Some of you have seen my most recent Facebook status, so here is my promised blog. My status says, "Corrie Oberg is wondering why the church has made the cross some sort of power symbol." and I have been asked to elaborate on this thought. I realize I may not have been very clear in my meaning. The church has made the cross more than it should, I think. For centuries, the cross was hated, feared, and used as a scare tactic. The Romans used it as a method of capital punishment. It does symbolize love, courage, and hope. But that's all it does. It SYMBOLIZES it. JESUS is the one on whom we need to focus. We wear the cross and decorate with it as a reminder of Christ's love for us. But Christians people using it as a means of power is not okay in my opinion.
Maybe I'm over analyzing things, which I tend to do sometimes, but I get a little... cautious when people tell me to "look to the cross" or "choose the cross". I choose to look to JESUS and choose JESUS to save me. The cross can also symbolize persecution. No one CHOOSES persecution, but when they choose Jesus, they unavoidably have the risk of persecution. No one wants to be persecuted, but when it comes Jesus will give us joy to withstand it, and count it a blessing to be persecuted for the Name of Jesus.
I think the church has kind of missed the original meaning of the cross. It was not meant to be some sort of magical thing that will automatically give you power. Wearing it on your neck isn't going to tell people you're a Christian. Having it hanging in your church just serves as a reminder. The cross is not going to give you any special power. Power comes from the Holy Spirit.
The cross was meant as a method of execution in Jesus' day. In our day and age, we have numerous methods of execution. If Jesus was killed by a gun, electric chair, lethal injection, or hanging, would we make those things holy and sacred? Would we wear guns on necklaces? Would we decorate with needles? Would we say "Look to the electric chair"? No. We don't like to think of those things. Neither did people in Jesus' day like to think of the cross. Especially after Jesus died. They would associate it with the death of their beloved Savior and shudder at the memory.
So often we forget what Jesus did on the cross and instead turn our attention to the pieces of wood. IT didn't do anything. (Besides, the "t" shape that we use isn't realistic at all. It would have been impossible for Jesus to carry a cross like that all the way to Golgotha. It would have been a tall beam that He carried that was put on top of another beam to form a "T" shape.) If someone claimed to have a piece of the cross, even if it was just a splinter, immediately experts from everywhere would be rushing to test it and religious people from all over would be fainting and crowding where it was just to see it or touch it as if it could heal them just by them touching it. Shouldn't we be putting our needs in God's hands? As humans, I understand that it is easier to believe in something that is visible, tangible, and audible. But that's not what faith is. Hebrews defines faith as "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." The church needs to get back to the Bible and start delving into God Himself and revering Him and His Word, and not the things He usesto get our attention. We're all guilty of doing these things time after time. I have an interest in archaeology and anthropology and would be extremely excited if Jesus' robe or even a splinter or something like that were to appear. But that's not what our focus should be. In repetition, it should be GOD and GOD ALONE.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't understand why we idolize the cross. I know that it is something that we need to treat with reverence and respect, but not to idolize or look on as a means of getting power. From looking at the cross we should be reminded of Christ's sacrifice and to have hope that we can be Overcomers in Christ. It doesn't suddenly energize you or revitalize you. Jesus gives you hope and faith and something for which to live.
So now I will get off my soapbox and let you all do with this as you will. If you want to comment, do so. If I've neglected something you want to say, then tell me. I'll post a link on Facebook for all you junkies out there.
This has been yet another peek into the fascinating mind of Corrie. Tune in next time for my over-analyzed, perhaps over-opinionated blog.
