The Intersection Of Life

The Intersection Of LifeElder Marquis Boone Dr. Alexander Whyte tells the story of a man who dreamed that he saw Jesus tied to a whipping-post, and a soldier was scourging Him. He saw the whip in the soldier's hand, with its thick lashes studded here and there with bits of lead, which were intended to cut into the flesh. And as the soldier brought the whip down on the bare shoulders of Jesus, the dreamer shuddered when he saw the marks and bloodstains it left behind. And when the soldier raised his hand to strike again the dreamer rushed forward intending to stop him. As he did so the soldier turned around and the dreamer recognized himself. --E. E. Lark. In Christianity the cross reminds us of God's act of love and atonement in Christ's sacrifice at Calvary. The Cross of Jesus stands at the intersection of eternity and our world. Mark 8:34 (NKJV) "And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." When we look at the cross we have to be reminded that it is a symbol of selflessness. Here in Mark we see that we all have a cross to carry, but our cross will never measure up to the one Jesus endured. His cross carried the weight of this world, and it represents His victory over sin and death.How many times do we find ourselves like the dreamer who doesn't want to see Jesus crucified? Then we realize that at times it is us who are doing the crucifying; in our humanness we forget all that Jesus did on the cross. It serves as an injustice to the cross when we live our lives daily in sin. God took on the cross so that we would not have to be slaves to sin. The cross gave us the ability to be above our circumstances and not under our circumstances.There is a big difference from being under your circumstances and being above, because when you are under your circumstances you can only do what your circumstances allow you to do, you can only go where your circumstances take you. When you are over your circumstances, over your sin, over you struggle you have ruler ship and authority; now you dictate what you will and will not do. You may be at an intersection in your life where you want to do right, but it seems that you are not sure which way to go and don't know which way to turn. I admonish you to take up your cross and follow Him. Well, Elder Boone I heard that before but I still don't know which way to go. Sometimes we have to go in the direction that is less desirable because it's on that path that victory is won. Jesus lay in the garden and said "Father if it's possible for this cup to pass let it, but nevertheless not my will but yours be done." Before you make your next decision think of the cross, see the cross, embrace the cross and ask the question: Will your decision bring glory or shame to the cross?