Two Lessons From the Cross

The Cross: Separating Followers From Admirers

I recently read about an encounter that the great civil rights leader and Baptist preacher Clarence Jordan (a white man from Georgia who started an integrated Christian community) once had with his own brother.  Jordan’s brother was then a lawyer, who would later become a justice in the Georgia Supreme Court.  Clarence asked his brother to represent his racially integrated community as their attorney.  Clarence’s brother refused.  “Didn’t we agree to follow Jesus when we made our commitments to Christ?” Clarence asked his brother.  “Yes, but I follow Jesus up to a point,” Clarence’s brother replied.

“Is that point up to the cross?” Clarence asked.

“Yes,” his brother said.  “I will go to the cross, but I’m not about to get myself crucified!”

“Then,” Clarence replied sadly to his brother, “you are not a true disciple.  You are an admirer of Jesus, but not a disciple.”  [Thanks to Matt Friedman for this story]. 

The cross of Jesus is truly the crossroad of the entire Christian faith.  It is the benchmark of what it means to follow Jesus with one’s whole life.  Jesus’ admonition to His disciples about what it means to be a true Christian – Christ follower – is to “take up your cross and follow me.”  These words gained more impact as they observed Jesus suffering and dying on that first Good Friday.  The disciples watched as their Lord and Teacher literally took up the cross and obeyed God to the fullest extent, forgoing comforts and praise in order to demonstrate the extent of the love of God.  Clarence Jordan was right in his assessment.  Admirers stand at a distance and say, “I am glad Jesus did that.”  Followers are those who say, “Because Jesus did this, I do not have to fear even if it means sacrificing my own reputation, my own comfort, or my very life for the sake of the good news of Jesus.” 

This brings us to the two key lessons of the cross.  The cross is more than just a place where Jesus took our place.  It is a demonstration of the power of God’s promise to love and an illustration of what Jesus was trying to teach on that first Maundy Thursday (John 13): loving us to the very end and beyond

Lesson One: How Dark Sin Is

Good Friday services are generally somber, reflective and dark – literally dark.  Crosses are covered in black cloth.  Lights are low.  We recapture the mood as best we can of the night when the holy, loving, and righteous Son of God allowed Himself to be put to death unjustly so that the love of God can be seen.  And as we gaze at the full extent of the love of God in the death of One who is willing to be put to death unjustly due to His commitment to love and peace, we simultaneously see how dark sin can get.  How depraved can we be?  The answer as we “survey the wondrous cross,” to use the words of hymn writer Isaac Watts, is almost too much to bear.  No wonder the same hymn writer notes that as we observe the cross, our “richest gain becomes but loss,” and we “pour contempt on all our pride.”  Why?  Because any pride I had in my own goodness is called into question when I realize someone just like me – too much like me for comfort – did THAT to the holy, perfect, loving Son of God who was sent to bring me into God’s family. 

The cross is a dark place.  It is a reminder of how far we can go down the path of sin and death.  It is so tempting to look at the cross from a distance instead of taking up the cross, honestly bearing the reality of the depth of sin in my own life.  It is easy to see the cross in hindsight and not as a present reality for all of us. 

But there is light even in the dark shadows of the cross. 

Lesson Two: How Far God Will Go

Is there a “bridge too far” for God?  Is there a limit to His love?  I often hear people who wish to remind us that even though God is loving, we are not to forget that He is also a “righteous judge” and is a “God of wrath.” 

I think this kind of thinking misses the point and also looks at the cross from a distance.  The cross does demonstrate our sin, but it does so in light of the great love of God.  In the act of sacrificing His own life, Jesus exposes sin.  He does not do so, then, in harsh and punitive judgement, but in submissive love. If God were simply about wrath, then our first response would be defensive.  But God’s response to sin is sacrificial love, which catches us off guard.  Look how far God will go to show you the way to Himself, the cross cries out.  See how much God loves us, the cross reminds.  “How deep the Father’s love for us; How vast beyond all measure,” another hymn writer reminds.  This, too, is seen in the cross of Jesus. 

Putting the Lessons Together

These two lessons – the depth of sin and the heights of God’s love – are always working in tandem in the lives of those who “take up the cross” of Jesus Christ and become His disciples (not just admirers).  In the shadow of the cross, I am constantly reminded that my journey is to be one of humility.  My sin is part of the story of how the perfect and holy Son of God ended up there.  It could just as well have been me driving the nails.  When I embrace sin, I am indeed capable of such things, and so are we all! 

At the same time, the cross reminds me that as I walk in humility, I need not fear that I will be asked to “love too much” or to go too far in loving and serving others.  Jesus Himself has already gone the distance.  He has already gone as far as it is possible to God, and He bids me to follow Him there!  Therefore, all of my actions, attitudes, and interactions with all of the voices around me are filtered through the cross.  Is this attitude or action bathed in the humility that recognizes that sin runs deep in me and in all of us?  Is this attitude or action placing unworthy limits on the love of God that can be expressed through me because of the cross and the empty tomb of Jesus?  That, and not less than that, is taking up the cross.  May God help us.