Symbols

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-15 NIV)

Most mornings I drink coffee from a mug I bought over 10 years ago in a Taos, New Mexico pottery shop.  I was there while on a sabbatical, recovering from one of the worst personal crises I have ever faced—the dissolution of my first marriage.  The parents of two of my students had kindly given me use of their vacation home and I spent a week there hiking, reading, praying, and taking in the sights.  That time spent in the mountains was very healing and refreshing for me.  For the first time since entering my “desert experience,” God revealed to me His presence and spoke comforting words, words I still remember to this day. That is why the coffee mug means so much to me.  It serves as a symbol of God’s love for me and His power given to me to overcome what the Enemy had hoped would destroy my faith.  

In 1st Century Rome, the cross was a symbol of government power and was used often to intimidate the populace into submission to its will.  That is why the Jewish leaders were so bent on having Jesus crucified.  They were certain His death on the cross and the memory of it would crush the will of His followers and thus the threat to their own power and authority. Much to their surprise, the opposite happened.  

At the last breath of Jesus, the earth shook, the curtain in the Temple was ripped in two, and a Roman soldier declared Jesus to be the Son of God (Matthew 27:51-54). Within days, there was talk of Jesus being alive. And as the months and years passed, the cross, once an instrument of execution and a symbol of intimidation and cruelty, became instead a symbol of triumph and hope.  It still is.

Just as with every sip from my coffee mug I am reminded of God’s love and grace for me, so, too, does the Cross serve as a reminder of God’s ultimate triumph over the forces of darkness.  We don’t worship the Cross, but the One who was hung on it.  However, it is a symbol of God’s power and one from which we should draw encouragement every day.

Today, in the words of the Hebrew writer, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1b-3 NIV)

© Jim Musser 2013