“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures … He was buried, and … He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” —1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Crosses decorate church steeples and designate burial places. Sometimes they mark the spot where people died in motorway accidents. They are also worn as jewellery.

Crosses remind people of Jesus Christ. I was made aware of this when a businessman, seeing a small gold cross on the lapel of my jacket, asked me, “Why are you a believer in Christ?” I was glad for the opportunity to share my faith with him.

Jesus died on the cross for us, but we don’t worship a dead Saviour. Our Lord’s body was taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb, and then on the third day He emerged in a glorified body.

The cross speaks to us of the total picture-our Lord’s atoning death to pay the price for our sin, as well as His glorious resurrection to deliver us from the power of death.

TIf it were not for what Christ did on the cross, we would all stand guilty before God and hopeless in the face of death. Yet through faith in Him, we receive the forgiveness of our sins and the assurance that death cannot hold us.

Have you looked at the cross and placed your trust in the One who died there? It’s the only sure and perfect remedy for guilt and fear. It means that, even in the bleakest times, God loves us, is with us, and will provide for Us.

—Herbert Vander Lugt