“The cross is the center of the world’s history; the incarnation of Christ and the crucifixion of our Lord are the pivot round which all the events of the ages revolve. The testimony of Christ was the spirit of prophecy, and the growing power of Jesus is the spirit of history”
The nature of the disunity was rooted in pride. This pride expressed itself in lining up behind favorite Christian leaders and boasting about their superiorities. The result was quarreling and schisms in the church. “Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies, those who disagreed with everything he said. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this because he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. ‘The kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared’
Christ is not divided; he is one. Whatever it is that we have and enjoy, came from him. We create divisions, hold certain people above others and this leads to differences and this leads to a sense of false pride as to being part of something else. The truth that we need to understand this season is that, no other person was crucified for you; Christ was. You were not baptized into a preacher’s name; you were baptized into Christ’s name. True teachers of the gospel don’t try to win converts or party members by preaching with self-enhancing flourishes of eloquence; they die to themselves in preaching Christ crucified. God is the one who produces all spiritual fruit and should get the glory for the results, not man.
If we can learn this truth, we become a little closer to the cross. We better understand the depth and the meaning of the sacrifice the cross showed us. The sacrifice represented something and the truth sometimes gets lost in our pursuit of creating divisions amongst ourselves. The truth of the cross resonates across generations and centuries, it will stand the test of time. Greater men before us has tried to silence the truth the cross tells us but nothing can ever hide the meaning that cross carries. It is for everyone, it unites us and makes us who we truly are.
Does the Cross bring us together or does it separates us even more?