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THE CROSS IS PIVOTAL
Pivotal means crucial or absolutely necessary. Such is the cross on which Jesus died. It represents salvation from sin and death. To see sin in all its cruelty and depravity, look at the cross. The cross can jar a person to the core.
In his parent's bedroom, a teenager noticed a picture he'd never paid attention to before. It was a vivid scene of the Crucifixion. As the boy studied it, his emotions began to stir. He saw the helpless Christ dying, the helmeted soldiers bearing spears, the crowd seething with hatred. Jesus was pinned to the cross, bleeding and helpless. Mary stood nearby, consumed by grief.
The picture revealed sin and its results: suffering and death. What if the room had a different picture with an empty tomb and an angel announcing Christ's resurrection? Those represent that God loves mankind so much he still wants to save us, no matter what we've done.
"May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14, NRSV).
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