At the foot of the Cross
Faustino de Jesús Zamora Vargas
SUMMARY: The cross was once a symbol of pain and shame, but for Christians today it represents hope and victory. It is the starting point of Christianity and the center of Christ's redemptive sacrifice. Living at the foot of the cross means adopting the same liberating option of Jesus, identifying with the weak, hapless, and marginalized. The gospel without a cross is a diluted gospel, adapted to pleasures and devoid of demands. Christians must die to sin and put Christ first in their lives. It is up to us to live at the foot of the cross and be worthy of salvation to proclaim Christ's glory to the world.
If the cross was at some time in Christianity the image of pain and shame, for today's Christian it is a symbol of hope and victory. Salvation is obtained from the cross, in recognition of the sacrifice of our Lord, who nailed all the sins of the world to the cross through his redemptive blood. The cross is more than a symbol, it is the starting point of Christianity whose center is Christ the redeemer. A beautiful document of the Latin American Theological Fraternity declared in 1985 in Brazil: “the Cross of Christ, more than understood, must be assumed… which means adopting the same liberating option of Jesus that implies identification with the weak, the hapless and the marginalized ”. Christians must live at the foot of the cross. The world is too entertained in recreating its miseries and depravities by risking its life. The gospel that is preached today in so many places is moving further and further away from the cross. It is the "gospel without demands", a diluted gospel, adapted to pleasures, it is cheap grace, a new gospel, without compromise, where consecration and service are obsolete words - as they also say about sin - it is a gospel without cross.
The gospel without a cross refuses to name sin by its name, it masks it, hides it, turns it into a justified action because "life is very short and you have to live it fully." Christ bought our lives on the cross and right there he dealt a mortal blow to the kingdom of darkness when he resurrected, when he emerged from the cross with a light that illuminates us from Calvary and into eternity. There are those who claim that the word sin is out of context, that it is no longer current, that we must be careful not to hurt people when we tell them that they are sinners and that they should repent, that it is very aggressive and nobody likes to listen to it. Sometimes we speak better of reprimanding the spirits of fornication, drunkenness, adultery than reprimanding ourselves for our sins. We are the sinners, not the spirits that we usually rebuke as if sin had no faces. We act like foolish Galatians, as if the Cross and blood of Christ were not necessary to cleanse our own corruption. We have heard it said many times "we are being affected by the spirit of enmity, heartbreak, rivalry, distrust, etc." Caramba! Is it not better to act at the foot of the Cross and confront the sin of each one with its liberating and victorious power, calling the sinner to repentance?
According to the Lausanne Pact "a church that preaches the cross must itself be marked by the cross." What a great challenge for the church of Christ and for all Christians!
Living at the foot of the cross as disciples of Christ means first of all "dying to sin" with our eyes fixed on the throne of our Savior. The cross is the throne of Jesus. To live at the foot of the cross is to make “I” die, it is to put Christ in the first place of our lives and to humble ourselves as he humbled himself to come to this world to suffer a death on the cross. It is "crucifying ourselves", "denying ourselves", taking up our own cross "to resurrect to a new life, to a glorious life. As this happens, Christian virtues that glorify God and Christ the Savior begin to emerge in us. Paul helps us to reflect on the cross when he says: “persecuted, but not abandoned; shot down, but not destroyed. Wherever we go, we always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that his life may also be manifested in our body. (2 Cor 4: 9-10) NIV)
Dear brothers and sisters, it is up to us to live at the foot of his cross to be worthy of such a great salvation and to be able to shout to this troubled world: Christ lives! To Him be the glory forever and ever.
The gospel without a cross refuses to name sin by its name, it masks it, hides it, turns it into a justified action because "life is very short and you have to live it fully." Christ bought our lives on the cross and right there he dealt a mortal blow to the kingdom of darkness when he resurrected, when he emerged from the cross with a light that illuminates us from Calvary and into eternity. There are those who claim that the word sin is out of context, that it is no longer current, that we must be careful not to hurt people when we tell them that they are sinners and that they should repent, that it is very aggressive and nobody likes to listen to it. Sometimes we speak better of reprimanding the spirits of fornication, drunkenness, adultery than reprimanding ourselves for our sins. We are the sinners, not the spirits that we usually rebuke as if sin had no faces. We act like foolish Galatians, as if the Cross and blood of Christ were not necessary to cleanse our own corruption. We have heard it said many times "we are being affected by the spirit of enmity, heartbreak, rivalry, distrust, etc." Caramba! Is it not better to act at the foot of the Cross and confront the sin of each one with its liberating and victorious power, calling the sinner to repentance?
According to the Lausanne Pact "a church that preaches the cross must itself be marked by the cross." What a great challenge for the church of Christ and for all Christians!
Living at the foot of the cross as disciples of Christ means first of all "dying to sin" with our eyes fixed on the throne of our Savior. The cross is the throne of Jesus. To live at the foot of the cross is to make “I” die, it is to put Christ in the first place of our lives and to humble ourselves as he humbled himself to come to this world to suffer a death on the cross. It is "crucifying ourselves", "denying ourselves", taking up our own cross "to resurrect to a new life, to a glorious life. As this happens, Christian virtues that glorify God and Christ the Savior begin to emerge in us. Paul helps us to reflect on the cross when he says: “persecuted, but not abandoned; shot down, but not destroyed. Wherever we go, we always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that his life may also be manifested in our body. (2 Cor 4: 9-10) NIV)
Dear brothers and sisters, it is up to us to live at the foot of his cross to be worthy of such a great salvation and to be able to shout to this troubled world: Christ lives! To Him be the glory forever and ever.
