The Cross and All of Humanity

The Cross, representing the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is an event that touches the life of every single person alive today. The convinced atheist is no less touched by it than the lifetime believer. Adherents to other religions (should I say all religions?) cannot escape the fact that the Cross happened. The nature of Christianity is that it spreads. It spreads quickest and deepest when those in authority attempt to crush it. The story of the Cross is spreading even as I write this, even as you read this. Countless people are sorting it out, categorizing it, placing it in their catalog of concepts, or finding a way to redefine it. The more people try to explain it, excuse it, ignore it, or mock it, the more it gets out there and gets attention. The Cross is tied, of course, to the One who hung and died on it. The reverse is true as well. As there is no Cross without Jesus, there is no Jesus without the Cross. Many strive to separate the two. They did while Jesus walked the earth. This striving to separate powerfully bonds the Cross and the Christ together; by trying to put out the fire, they only fan its flames. Every day we have news to read, watch, and hear. Every bit that we hear points back and up to the Cross. The larger the story, the greater the body count, the heavier the burden, the sadder the outcome, it brings us back, whether we know it or not, to the Cross. At the end of the most horrifying news account, we can look at each other and say, "That's why there was a Cross." The Cross is justice, answers, peace, truth, hope, purpose, and, of course, forgiveness. The Cross is the one mirror that accurately tells us what we look like on the inside, how we are, and who we are. The Cross is the end of lies. The Cross is the end of needing to lie. Today, all of humanity lives, some knowing, some not, under the shadow of the Cross.