The Cross is Not the Destination
As a child I had the privelege of growing up in church., almost every Sunday we were in attendance. During that time a subtle misconception was introduced that it went like this, “if you don’t know what to do look to the cross, all your answers can be found at the cross.” It started innocent enough but as time has gone on the damage of this misconception has grown. I remember as a child of the 80’s and 90’s it seemed that church culture was innundated with all types of merchandise baring some sort of Christian statement and every post Sunday converstaion was populated with Christianese phrases. The idea of the cross being the destination for answers was one of those accepted phrases and it was tailor made for that purpose. Looking back nearly 20 years later that phrase has come to haunt an entire generation of Christians.
The Cross is NOT The Destination
The idea of the cross being the destination of the Christian walk may be one of the most damaging ideas facing Christianity today. On the surface it seems like an innocent enough statement, in fact it seems to be a righteous statement. The fact is however the cross is not the destination, it was never the destination. If it was the destination Jesus would still be there, but he is not. He is long beyond the cross. The issue is Christians are living like he is and looking for answers where they can’t find them because he is not there.
Entire generations of Christians are walking away out of frustration because of a poor understanding of the cross. They have been taught to bring their cares and burdens to cross but they have not been taught anything else. This has lead to them looking for answers at the same place where they dropped thier burdens when in fact the answers are elsewhere. The frustration of seeking and not finding has lead many to leave the faith viewing God, Jesus and Christianity as uncaring at best.
It’s Where You Start NOT Where you Finish
The cross is not the finish line, let me repeat that, The Cross is NOT the finish line. It is in fact the starting line of freedom, it is the starting line of the Christian walk. Jesus did not die on the cross for his followers to make a pilgrimage to exact place where their previous fate destined them. Jesus went to cross so that we, his beloved would not have to. So why if he went to the cross to prevent us from going there would he turn around and make that our destination? Simply put, he would not. The reality is he defeated that fate and it is that fate that finds it’s finish at the cross not our walk.
For the Christian however the reason Jesus went to cross, his entire purpose for their lives begins not when they look to the cross but when they go beyond the cross. We must put the cross behind us and push on to the life beyond it. Jesus did not die for us to lament his death on the cross, he went to the cross so we may have new life and have it abundantly. While his journey and purpose lead him to the cross, our journey leads us from the cross as he paid the price and defeated it already.
The idea of the cross being the finish line has lead many to waste their lives and grow frustrated as nothing is happening. The inconvenient truth is they are not seeing breakthrough because they have not yet started their journey, they are stuck at the beginning with their entire journey and purpose ahead. Don’t be one of those individuals who are frustrated and missing their purpose, step beyond the cross. Put your back to it look ahead to the path Christ laid for you and run into the future and purpose he died to give you.