"The Face of Favor" (Part 2)

A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. (Mark 15:21-24 NIV).

Today we’ll continue with out look at “The Face of Favor.” As I said yesterday, there is no better place to see the grace and love of God than at the cross. However, it is impossible to fully comprehend that event. It is indeed the greatest of mysteries in the Scripture. Oh, sure, we can understand some of the historical significance of the cross, but that won’t allow us to experience tis reality. We can theorize about its theological importance and still be untouched by its power. Christians and non-believers alike can be moved by the idea of the substitutionary suffering of a man for the love of his friends, but miss entirely the cosmic implications of what happened at Golgotha. The reason for that is in the nature of Calvary. It is eternal in its impact, power, and grace.

Lloyd J. Ogilvie tells of an experience he had one Easter, when he conducted a survey of one hundred members of various Christian churches about the difference the Cross made to them. The specific questions was: Would it have made any difference in your life as you are now living if Christ had not died on the cross? Forty-five said they didn’t think so! Twenty-five said they thought so, but didn’t know what that difference would be. Twenty indicated it made all the difference in both what they believed and how they lived. And ten said they didn’t even understand what the cross was all about!

It’s easy to look at “them” and not at ourselves. The real question in trying to know what God looks like is this question. What difference does the Cross make in our lives? If we were really honest with ourselves, we would be able to say that it has made a difference in our lives verbally, though our actions tell a different tale. The real meaning of the Cross must be captured in our lives in such a way as to make them truly different. This is the story of Simon of Cyrene.

That’s where we’re going in the next few days. Today I Hope you will acknowledge the need in your life to make Jesus and the relationship you have with Him through the atoning work of grace in the Cross the single most determining factor of your life. Forget all the slogans like WWJD (old I know, but you get the idea) and focus on the face of Jesus who smiles in forgiveness and welcome to give you eternal life! That, after all, is really what God looks like!