Christ And His Cross

In a few days, we shall be celebrating the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior, a very good day. Unless you are just joining us, you know that the death of Jesus holds a special place in our hearts. The thought that by His death, Jesus tore the temple veil in two is enough to make us shout Hallelujah. By so doing, He granted us full and direct access to God. We could go on and on about all the wonderful things Jesus did for us by dying. However, today we consider another aspect. We need to see that Christ and His cross are nailed together.

You wonder why we need to see that, and I would wonder too if I didn’t get the import of the nailing.  Why for instance, did they not strap Jesus to the cross from where he could slide to the ground? Death on a cross is the same, no matter how the person is attached to the cross. Not so? So, why did the Roman soldiers nail Christ and His cross together? And why is it important for you and me to understand that? Once you understand this, a few of your life’s experiences begin to make sense.

For example, you may desire honor which is another word for glory. You want to have honor in your family, in your neighborhood, at your job, and so on. Perhaps you pray about it every chance you have. And yet honor seems to elude you and you wonder if God is not listening. Or that perhaps His hand is too short to save you, although the bible says God’s hand is not short.

Importance of Understanding That Christ And His Cross Are Nailed Together

Of course, glory is the first example that springs to mind but it is far from being the only one. You study hard and expect a promotion at work, naturally. But it does not come, not only because promotion only comes from God but because of this understanding. You need to appreciate the nailing together of Christ and His cross.

That means you cannot have one without the other. We have a saying about how a snail’s shell always goes where the snail goes. That is how it is with Christ and His cross. If you want Christ and all the benefits that come with Him, you must embrace the cross. In the secular world, they would say “you cannot make an omelet without breaking an egg.” Or “no glory without the cross.”

Most certainly, for the believer, there is no divine benefit without the cross of Jesus. Because all the goodness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. It could be relational prosperity you want, tired of being alone. Your issue may be peace all around or you want grace to replace the law in your life. Whatever it is you desire from God, it comes by way of the cross. Once you understand that, you are ready for God to pour out His blessings on you. But if you do not understand the unbreakable bond between Christ and His cross, you may waste time on prayers.

The Fastest Way To Glory And Honor

Are we saying we should not pray? Far from it. Nonetheless, we must pray as Jesus directed. He said we should not pray long prayers like the unbelievers or the prophets of Baal. And because He is not deaf, we should refrain from yelling at Him. But we must pray, and quite often. Jesus Himself set us the example of praying often. But He did not set the example of shouting at our Father.

After reading this post, you can continue to attend night vigils and pray for God to grant you honor, promotion, or even money. Perhaps you are into fasting, trying to change God’s mind – an impossibility anyway. So, you fast longer hoping that would change His mind. You can continue along that path, but this post shows you a better and faster method.

Embrace the cross of Jesus, the suffering and the affliction that come with it. Or to quote Apostle Paul. “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection. And the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” Quite often, we stop that verse after ‘the power of His resurrection.’ We don’t like the fellowship of His sufferings and definitely do not want anything to do with His death.

But Paul understood the unbreakable bond between Christ and His cross. Once we understand that, we are on the fastest pathway to all the riches of heaven, Sadly, until we know it, we could be wasting time praying long prayers without seeing any result. May we grasp the fact that you cannot separate Christ and His cross.

Maranatha!