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Let's begin with a little math: 1 Cross + 3 Nails = 4 given. When Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead, He created a "new and living way" (Hebrews 10:20) by which we can come before our God. Today Jesus is "to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation" (Hebrews 5:9).

Paul said, "...but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (I Corinthians 1:23-24).

The cross of Christ is the cross of God's eternal purpose. In Ephesians we read of the "eternal purpose which He [God] carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ephesians 3:11). The night before our Lord's death, He bowed in the garden of Gethsemane and prayed, "...not my will but Thine be done" (Luke 22:42). In this statement we behold the humble obedience of the Son to the Father. We also note that even though mere men were involved in the actions that would lead to the cross of Christ, it was indeed the will of God that would be accomplished.

The cross of Christ is the cross of love. "Greater love has no man than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Christ stepped forward to die on the cross, not for His own sins, but for ours. Regarding the giving of His life Jesus said, "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative... (John 10:18). Just remember, somebody loved you enough to die for you, His name is Jesus.

The cross of Christ is the cross of sacrifice. When John the Immerser saw Jesus, he said, "Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29)! The lamb of God brings to mind the feast of the Passover in which the Jews remember the night God passed over the houses that had applied the blood of a lamb to the doorpost. Jesus is called "our Passover" (I Corinthians 5:7). When Jesus died on the cross outside the city walls of Jerusalem, the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in the temple. This sacrifice for our sins, calls us to take up our cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34). This is the purpose of God for our lives, and should be done out of love, as He has loved us. Certainly this calls for personal sacrifice, denying ourselves.

Someone has said, "Never die as if Christ never lived; Never live as if Christ never died".

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