Random thoughts on a road trip

The cross is a place of death, disgrace, humiliation, pain. When Jesus came to this place He was flogged, mocked, spat on and killed. Even at this point He was showing us the path to walk. When we come to the cross we must be humiliated before God. It is the place where we face up to our sin and disgrace. It is a place of pain and shame where, as with Simon Peter, we say to God "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man". The only way to come to the cross is to be humiliated before a completely righteous God. To be in awe of His holiness, as that is what separates Him from us. This brings us to a place of desire - desire for reconciliation.

Once Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, went through that, He rose form the dead in glorious life. When we lay "Our Lives" down, He raises us into abundant and overflowing life. That is why we look back at the point of the cross as a beautiful thing. That is why we are overwhelmed at the sacrifice He made. He had to do it, so we could do it. By going to the place He did not have to go to, He allows us to come to the place we are desperate for.