It is the Spirit of God who discloses and reveals the message of the cross. He endorses this message and gives it its seal of authenticity.

The idea of God dying on the cross for us is just as mind-blowing as the idea of God becoming a human being – for real – not just for a week or so, no, the entire human experience. Jesus was born into a human family; he grew up, went through puberty, became a man and ran his own business before He went into public ministry. All of that is part of the story of the cross. He did not just appear out of the blue. The Son of God was a local citizen, had a nationality and belonged to a family tribe.

The Lord’s mission entailed more than redeeming us from death. He also came to redeem our lives when He walked in our shoes. The Son of God did not just dip His toe into the water, He got His hands dirty. He laughed and He cried; He had relatives and built friendships; He experienced love and rejection; He was revered and disrespected.

And Jesus prayed. Whether on earth or in heaven, His prayers have been the one constant. Jesus still prays. He prays for us. We are on His heart day and night.

When Jesus passed from this life He died publicly in front of everybody a very cruel death. Dying in itself is tough. Why He had to be humiliated and murdered is incomprehensible, but so is human brutality that happens on a daily basis. The point being, Jesus came to redeem us from all of that. He came to save us from ourselves.

Saved is a state of being, not an end result. The Lord’s greatest joy is to see our healing process as a result of His sacrifice. We accept the truth God whispers into our ear, and we shed off all the things that tie us down and hold us back. Being saved simply means we get to be real. Turning to God and allowing Him to heal us, turns us into the person we were designed to be.

The story of the cross is a story we need to listen to from beginning to end. It is tragic that the glorious Son of God had to suffer because of us, but this is only part of the story. The other part is His passion for us. He did it because He loves us.

Jesus creates beauty from ashes. Life comes from the cross.