The Cross

I often say, “Everything is everything, and God can use anything.” I thought about this as I remembered a young man I had encountered wearing a cross necklace. I asked him why he wore it, and he said it brought him peace. I asked him why he thought that was the case, and he answered that he did not know. I explained that it is a symbol of peace between God and man because God sent His Son, Jesus, to rescue us from sin and death, and He died on the cross.

It was much the same for me when I came to know Jesus. At one point, as a young college student seeking peace of mind. I was a wreck on the verge of emotional and mental collapse with a void in my life. Fear and dread drove me to seek a cross necklace to wear. I wasn’t sure why I thought it would help me or why I believed the cross had the power to defeat evil. Maybe it was from watching vampire movies where the villain would be vanquished upon seeing a cross. Or perhaps it was some forgotten memory from Sunday school as a child. I found a wooden cross that a friend had carved for me, put it on, and felt better and more peaceful. Although I felt calmer after putting on the cross, I still felt hopeless, empty, with no direction and no one to help me.  

One day, soon after that, a street evangelist cornered me and started to tell me about the love of God and His sending His Son to die for my sins on the cross in my place. Her mouth was moving at one point, but I didn’t hear any sound. I was envisioning the person I came to know as Jesus. He was hanging on a cross, bleeding, dying. What a pair we were! I remember exclaiming, ‘That is the cross I have been looking for. How do I get it?’ Startled, she told me that I only needed to believe. I confessed my belief at that very moment. I was changed, born again, and God’s Spirit filled the void. The cross became where I found God’s grace, peace, and love, or His grace, peace, and love found me! Jesus beckoned me to come closer, which I have been working on doing ever since.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.