Cross: Our Hope

One of the opportunities that the Lenten season offers is the opportunity to reflect on and learn from the cross. What does the cross of Christ signify to Christians? Why is the cross of Christ so essential?  On the cross, God in Christ identifies with a fallen human being. According to Moltmann, German Reformed theologian, cross is God’s act of identification with humanity and the source of a new hope for the human future. In ancient antiquity, cross was not a symbol, but a practical method of causing a terrible and painful death. It was humiliating and shameful to be crucified. However, Jesus Christ turned the cross from a cruel means of death into a symbol of hope. Now, for Christians, the cross on which Jesus hung, came to represent glory and triumph. In a special way, the cross symbolizes the content of the Christian faith. The human redemption provided by God through Jesus Christ is symbolized by the cross.  Cross reminds of the sacrifice that Jesus made for entire humanity. Our sins are forgiven by Christ’s death on the cross.  In his epistle to the Colossians, Paul, the apostle, makes this view of the cross very clear. He writes, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross (Colossians: 1: 19-20)”. Further, the world has found redemption through the cross. And it is essential to our salvation from sin and death.