Is Your Appreciation of The Cross Seasonal

Is Your Appreciation Of The Cross Seasonal?
By Tanya James
This week's topic: The Cross


There was a time when I was naïve enough to believe that every time I saw someone with a cross on their neck, that they were a Christian. For me, it was a symbol that reminded me of the incredible sacrifice that God made for each and everyone of us when He gave His only begotten son to die on the cross so that we may be saved.


However it took some time for me to learn that for some, wearing a cross was just another accessory to their outfit. It had no meaning and it didn’t symbolize anything of importance to them. It was simply another object in their jewelry boxes that they occasionally pulled out.

If truth be told, many of us are the same way … the cross is something we just “occasionally” think about. For some, the ONLY time we think about it is March or April when Easter Sunday rolls around.

This year like every other year, the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection will be told. Many churches will display crosses at their entrances as a reminder of the season. But what happens when the “holiday” has passed? Why does the cross seem to lose its value? Why is it in most cases, we only hear about that amazing sacrifice God made once a year? Has it simply become a yearly sermon topic?

It’s my belief that God sacrificing His only begotten son is so amazing and loving that we should constantly be giving Him praise for it. Who else do you know willing to bestow such a gift of life? I know as a mother, I often hold my daughter in my arms and think to myself, “I could never have done it.” I find it hard, even impossible to consider sacrificing my child even for someone that has always been kind, and gentle and loving towards me. Yet God did it for a people that were sinful, prideful, even conniving … a people that often don’t even appreciate His sacrifice.

I encourage you to change that occasional mindset concerning the cross… instead regularly mediate on the magnitude of what it really represents. Make it your motivation to be a better person, a better Christian. Share God’s self-less act with others that may not know how awesome the God you serve really is.

Let’s go a step further, the next time God asks you to sacrifice something … your time, your money, your talents … don’t even think about complaining or saying no. Remember that no sacrifice He asks of you could come close to comparing to the ultimate sacrifice that He already made for you and for me.

And no you don’t have to run out and buy a cross to wear around your neck … if the cross is in your heart, it will show through your words and actions making you a better representation of the Christ we love and serve.


Founder and president of The Master Plan, Tanya James is the author of From Promiscuity to Proverbs 31: Getting Off the Fence of Sexual Immorality. For more information about Tanya, log onto http://www.armedanddangerous.biz or http://www.themasterplan.biz.