We keep trying to follow the Christ of a distant and past cross. Maybe we have not been taught properly how the cross can form us. Maybe we just don’t like the suffering associated with crosses. We cannot avoid sufferings in a fallen world; we must take all of this to our cross, and it may well become our cross. Suffering is meaningless without the cross; the cross changes suffering into a sanctifying servant. No, the cross of Jesus is not a distant cross; it is to be as present in our lives as the Lord Himself is present in our lives. Our companionship with Him includes the companionship of His cross.
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20 NASB)
{From the NEW devotional book, “Sonlight for the Soul” by H. Lamar Smith, your devotional book for 2023. Available on Amazon, or contact me by email or private message for discounted quantity prices for gifts.}
