Walking the cross
Today I walked the cross with the church on the street team. What an awesome team of people that love Jesus, Carolina, Simon, Lucy, Jeanie and her husband Ramiro, the Church on the street leadership team.
I didn’t start out with the intention of carrying the cross the entire mile and a half but somewhere along the way I felt a resolve come over me that I would be the one to carry the cross the entire way.
People that saw us all responded as they drove by, for some their response was to simply ignore us as if they did not see us at all, others would honk their horns and express their support, enthusiasm and joy. One person seemed to be enraged and was yelling things that I didn’t care to pay too much attention to. A young man walked over to us and thanked us holding his bible and telling us how he was trying hard to be a witness at his job, it seemed that we were able to encourage him, another person yelled at us from the other side of the 4 lane street “what is the purpose?” some of the team walked across and explained to her that the purpose was to remind people of Gods great love and to invite them to join us at our church on the street service.
You know all of these people are symbolic to the worlds response to the great sacrifice of Christ upon the cross 2000 year ago. Some will act as if it never happened, some will be inspired and encouraged, some will ask, what is the purpose? Pleading for someone to explain to them the plan of eternal salvation and yet others will feel conviction and yet reject the truth and become angry and be enemies of the cross of Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Toward the end of the walk a man was walking out from the store with a case of water and for some reason he felt compelled to give us the case of water. He was moved to action by the cross and gave something. This is the response that God wants, for man to see the cross, the great love and sacrifice of Christ and give himself to God.
I’m not the most conditioned person it the world, it was not a piece of cake to walk the cross. I didn’t do it to pay some kind of price. Jesus paid it all! I didn’t do it to prove anything to anyone; I did it because it was my turn. Every Saturday week after week our people walk the cross. I have been out to walk the cross three times over the last year but this is the first time that I carried it all the way. We don’t take up the cross because it is exciting and pleasurable, living for God can be both but sometimes it will be hard, challenging, trying and sometimes for some even excruciating. But we carry the spiritual cross of Christ because it is our turn. Others have carried it before us and some have even given their lives for Christ, its our turn. We are the ones being called right now to take up our cross and follow Him.
When I “made it” to the end I might have expected a great crowd cheering me on but there where only a few people cooking hotdogs. I was reminded that this was because I had not “made it” to the end yet. Jesus is waiting for us at the end together with a great host of those who have gone before us, they are waiting to cheer us as we enter into our final victory and hear our savior say well done thou good and faithful servant! Oh and who knows maybe they will be cooking some hotdogs too.
