Holy Saturday -- the Cross Makes the Difference

Today is the in-between day of our Savior’s agony on the cross -- one of the cruelest methods of execution ever practiced, slowly dying in despicable humiliation, His dead body placed in a tomb – sealed and done! But, then comes tomorrow -- the day when all HELL had to break loose of what it thought was its captive – RESURRECTION Sunday! I hear God saying to us “Hold on, My Children – JOY COMES IN THE MORNING!”

But this day, I’m still fixed on what happened yesterday – more specifically, fixed on the “Old Rugged Cross – the emblem of suffering and shame”. Perhaps it’s because of this photo that I’ve seen many times in my social media feeds. It is a photo of Notre Dame Cathedral’s cross that remained unscathed after the horrific fire. The “Cross of Jesus” is what represents our Savior’s great love for us.

The cross! What once represented an inhumane, torturous death sentence, now is a symbol of love. That’s why you rarely see me not wearing one of my precious cross pendants or cross earrings or a bracelet that dangles a cross. The cross is my “statute of liberty” as one old song proclaims.

While I cherish my “jewelry” crosses as expressions and symbols of my faith, I’m not quite sure I like the cross Jesus referred to here: “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to be My disciple, let them deny themselves…and take up their cross.” Matthew 16:24. When I hear the words, “Take up your cross", I know He means daily suffering, opposition, humility, dying to self, staying silent when that’s the last thing I want to do, being a servant to others, and carrying burdens that are often too heavy to bear. But, I know without the cross, there are no crown wearers in heaven.

The fact is we all must carry our own crosses in this life. Doesn’t sound like a ticket to Disneyland, does it? But, oh, it is so much better. It is a ticket to joy and peace, faith and hope and eternity with He Who paid the ultimate price for my salvation. What God offers is the promise that He is with us in our suffering; that He can bring good out of it and that one day He will put a stop to it and redeem it. The cross is not only God’s way of saying we are not alone in our suffering, but also that God has entered into our suffering through his own suffering.

Last night at our Good Friday service, my Pastor said, "The cross reminds us we have a high priest who sympathizes with our sufferings and was tested in every way we have been. The One who provides us strength is the same One who shares His victory with us. When He rises from the grave -- so do we!" None of us are without crosses to bear, but all of us have the opportunity to know the Savior Who promises us a FOREVER with Him. It’s not Disneyland, but FOREVER-Land. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, Resurrection morning and the ultimate tomorrow....when I see my Savior and my God, face to face.