After Easter
The resurrection does not invite us to forget the Cross. It invites us to trust it. What was accomplished there has been confirmed. What was borne there has been accepted. What was promised there will be completed.
The Cross and Our Hope
Easter morning arrives with light, song, and proclamation. Christ is risen. Death has been defeated. Hope stands where despair once ruled. These are words Christians have learned to say with joy, and rightly so.
Living Under the Cross
Mark 8:34–38 is a passage spoken before the crucifixion, yet unmistakably shaped by it. Here, Jesus addresses not only His disciples but the crowd. What He says is not reserved for a spiritual elite. It is spoken openly, plainly, and without softening. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
The Cross and Christ’s Victory
In Colossians 2:13–15, apostle Paul speaks of the Cross not only as forgiveness, but as triumph. Paul begins with restoration. We were dead in our sins, he says, but God made us alive with Christ. Forgiveness is named clearly and without qualification. Our sins are forgiven. God cancels the written charge that stood against us, the record of debt that condemned us. What stood against us has been removed, not ignored. Paul says it has been taken away and nailed to the Cross.
The Cross as the Measure of Love
Paul begins with a startling description of the human condition. “While we were still weak,” he writes, “at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” Love, in this passage, does not arise because we were strong, faithful, or deserving. It moves toward weakness. It addresses need rather than merit.
The Cross and Substitution
In 2 Corinthians 5:14–21, apostle Paul speaks about substitution not as an abstract theory, but as the heart of reconciliation. Paul begins with love, not punishment. “The love of Christ compels us,” he writes. What drives Paul’s understanding of the Cross is not divine anger looking for an outlet, but divine love moving decisively toward the lost. The Cross, in this passage, is first and foremost an act of love with purpose.
The Cross and the Problem of Sin
Many people today are comfortable speaking about forgiveness, love, and acceptance, but far less comfortable speaking about sin. The word itself often feels outdated or harsh. We prefer the language of weakness, mistakes, or broken systems. These are not wrong words, but on their own they are not sufficient. If the Cross is to make sense, we must be honest about the problem it addresses.
Why the Cross Was Necessary
For many people, the Cross is assumed rather than examined. Jesus was betrayed, unjustly condemned, and cruelly executed. We recognise the injustice and lament the suffering. But if the Cross is only the tragic outcome of human cruelty, then it sits awkwardly at the centre of Christian faith. Tragedies may move us, but they do not save us.
The Cross of Christ
The Cross is not a vague symbol of love, nor simply an example of sacrifice. It confronts us with sin, justice, mercy, suffering, victory, and hope. It tells us something unsettling about ourselves and something astonishing about God. To treat it lightly is to misunderstand it.
#31: He Is Coming Again
Christian hope does not end with reflection. It ends with promise. From the first page of Scripture to the last, God’s story moves toward restoration. What was broken will be healed. What was lost will be found. What was begun in humility will be completed in glory. The final promise of the Bible is not an explanation of events but a declaration from Jesus Himself: “I am coming soon.”