Early one morning our 20-year-old daughter and I walked across a parking lot to a hospital. Ann was scheduled to undergo eye surgery for a condition that had afflicted her since birth. Although neither of us voiced our fears, we sensed the anxiety of the other and wondered if this procedure would take care of the problem. Then Ann spied a cross on top of the building. "Look! A cross!" she said. "It’s really comforting to see a cross over the place I’m having surgery."

Comfort from a cross! We wear gold crosses around our necks. White crosses adorn the graves of our loved ones. Crosses rise from the steeples of churches—all comforting reminders of a person and an event.

The cross of Christ speaks comfort to believers.

The question of sin is solved at the cross.

For every person without Christ, life is a desperate effort to deal with sin and the guilt it brings. We may keep a set of rules or attend church hoping our good behavior will please God. Others give to the poor, thinking they can balance out their sin with good deeds.

There is a cure for the guilt and shame sin causes; it is Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). How comforting to know we don’t merely hope God forgives, but when we leave our sins at the cross, God’s Word assures us they are gone (Psalm 103:12). God forgives and forgets confessed sin. Our record is clean.

Why am I here? Does my life have a purpose? With an eye for only the here and now, it is natural to strive for purpose in our job, prestige, pleasure, and possessions. But the Bible tells us our time on earth is a dress rehearsal for eternity beyond. "If the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands" (2 Corinthians 5:1).

When we have an eternal perspective, our lives receive purpose. The apostle Paul summed up our questions about life when he said, "For to me, to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21). Now we spend our lives doing good, helping others as we follow the example of Jesus.

What will happen to me after I take my last breath? What’s beyond this life? Some dispel these fears with indifference.

"Whatever happens will happen," they say. But for most thinking people, questions about death are real and demand an answer. The cross answers those questions.

Jesus gave us a glimpse into the worlds beyond when he told the repentant criminal next to him on the cross, "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). There is life after death. We will be in one of two places: Heaven or Hell. The way to the glories of Heaven is a Person. "Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’’’ (John 14:6).

After the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, a recovery worker noticed two steel beams in the debris that formed a cross. As grieving relatives and friends of victims came to the site, the worker led them to this cross where they were comforted as they remembered another tragic scene and the resulting glory.

Jesus, keep me near the cross
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calv’ry’s mountain.
In the cross, in the cross
Be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river. |L

OTHER COLUMNS:
December 13, 2009 - Beyond the baby
November 29, 2009 - A gift of time
November 15, 2009 - Bringing Christ to French Guiana
November 1, 2009 - Walking the edge
October 18, 2009 - Watch what you say
October 4, 2009 - Proposing a new proverb
September 20, 2009 - Fear and trembling
September 6, 2009 - Elwyn
August 23, 2009 - Where did the Bible go?
August 9, 2009 - The public school: a local mission field
July 26, 2009 - Astonishing the judges
July 12, 2009 - Letting the past go
June 28, 2009 - Line up
June 14, 2009 - The path to spiritual growth
May 31, 2009 - A tribute to one of my heroes
May 17, 2009 - Silent soldier
April 19, 2009 - Operation Resensitization
April 5, 2009 - The temptations of ministers
March 8, 2009 - Conversation over shoes
February 22, 2009 - By their plurals you shall know them
February 8, 2009 - What is missing from your retirement plans?
January 25, 2009 - Turn the page
December 28, 2008 - Abba, Father
December 14, 2008 - Elementary truths
November 30, 2008 - The illusion
October 19, 2008 - Acting like a toddler
October 5, 2008 - Don’t miss this
September 21, 2008 - Foolish schemes
September 7, 2008 - God’s hand is everywhere
August 24, 2008 - The dance
August 10, 2008 - Strange land
July 27, 2008 - God’s amazing grace
July 13, 2008 - A best seller
June 29, 2008 - My grandfather’s clock and worship
June 1, 2008 - Reclaiming the name
May 4, 2008 - God is not our fairy godmother
April 6, 2008 - Success: what is it and who can measure up?
March 9, 2008 - Need to know
February 10, 2008 - The top three myths of singleness
January 13, 2008 - By invitation only
December 5, 2007 - Yes, Abbie, there is a Jesus
November 18, 2007 - 10 Ways to be a good Christmas customer
October 21, 2007 - The dividing line
September 23, 2007 - What do you fear?
September 9, 2007 - A life well lived
August 26, 2007 - To murmur, or not to murmur
July 29, 2007 - The cross and the Christian
July 15, 2007 - Turning the other cheek: still a valuable biblical principle
July 1, 2007 - Why the tie?
June 3, 2007 - The death of a son
May 6, 2007 - A prayer for the dying
April 8, 2007 - The omnipresent God
March 11, 2007 - Do the Amish have superheroes?
February 11, 2007 - What’s your black history?
January 14, 2007 - The split branch
December 31, 2006 - The house of regret
December 10, 2006 - The redemption of the innkeeper
November 26, 2006 - Too many choices
November 12, 2006 - Break the bashing habit: Learning to love the unsaved like Christ does: November 12, 2006
October 15, 2006 - Be ‘salt and light’ this Christmas!: October 15, 2006
September 17, 2006 - Who is a legalist?: September 17, 2006 Issue 38
July 23, 2006 - God speaks through our brokenness: July 23, 2006 Issue 38
June 25, 2006 - 'What I am looking for in my church leaders'