The Cross: it's there, and it's empty

The cross is there…

It stands forever as a reminder of our great need and guilt. God knew all that and sent Jesus to die on the cross and pay the whole price and penalty.

John Stott said it this way: “[F]ar from offering us flattery, the cross undermines our self-righteousness. We can only stand before it with a bowed head.”
 
The cross is empty…

As it stands, it reminding us of our forgiveness.

But as it stands empty, it reminds us that the price has been paid in full, and on Easter morning, both the tomb and the cross are empty.

Romans 4:25 says He was raised for our justification, and Romans 6 says He was raised so that we can walk in newness of life!

The empty cross reminds us we have all the rightness and riches of the risen Christ to trust and lean on, every day of our lives and for every challenge.
 
Look to the cross each morning and through each day, remembering that as we humbly bow before it, we silence the taunts of the Accuser of the brethren. We stand forgiven!

And as we look to the empty Cross, we know that we have in us the power and righteousness of the risen Christ. He is in us by His Spirit, and by that power we can walk in a brand new way.

Look long and hard at the great symbol of Christianity—the Cross. Grasp its full payment for your sins. No longer walk in guilt and shame, susceptible to the devil’s schemes. Walk in a new way, depending on Jesus for every step. This is what the Cross shows us!