Sarah Brossart
Today, my great friend Sarah writes about the things on her heart lately. She speaks of the importance in remembering that the cross becomes before the resurrection, that death came before new life was freely given, and Jesus was the one to do it all for us. She reminds us that suffering is part of it all and there is great importance in that. However, the promise of life still remains.
I love beautiful churches. I love the stain glass that depicts the lives of the saints and biblical characters. I love creaky kneelers and worn out baptismal fonts. But mostly I love the crucifix that hangs above the altar. Growing up in the church, crucifixes were completely normal. But as I’ve gotten older and attended other churches, I’ve noticed that the crucifix has been replaced with a cross (or sometimes nothing at all) as the focal point. While I have no problem with crosses, I wonder if we are forgetting a vital part of the story. The cross is a great symbol of how sin and death were defeated, however, the cross didn’t save us, it was all accomplished by the Man who said, “It is finished.”
I find we sometimes forget that Good Friday comes before Resurrection Sunday. There are many different reasons for this, but one is that we want the Christian life to always be happy and positive. We post our inspirational Bible verses and manage to keep a smile plastered on our faces at all times. However, we should not feel the need to disguise struggling, or pretend that everything is easy if we follow Christ. Suffering is a real and important part if of our human experience. However, fullness of life still remains our invitation.
Christ didn’t promise us that our sufferings would go away, but He does promise us an abundant life (John 10:10).
The Man who died upon that cross saved you from your sins, not the cross itself.
Yes, the cross is the symbol that Jesus Christ defeated sin and death.
But it was Jesus upon the cross that said, “It is finished.”
Friends, I hope that every time you look down at your necklace, you remember the ultimate act of love, the death of a man named Jesus, and I hope you don’t ever forget that 3 days later, death would be defeated forever.
“The death of the Lord our God should not be a cause of shame for us; rather, it should be our greatest hope, our greatest glory. In taking upon himself the death that he found in us, he has most faithfully promised to give us life in him, such as we cannot have of ourselves.” – St. Augustine
-Sarah
Echoing these beautiful thoughts, we are excited to launch our newest collection, The Calvary Collection, later today!