Loving the Torture

Does it ever bother you that the outstanding symbol of our Christian faith is the cross?

We see past the torture. Death by crucifixion would be considered inhumane today. The public suffering involved was meant to serve as a deterrent to crime, especially the crime of inciting revolution against the Roman Empire.

But we see the joy on the other side. Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins. If we take that death as payment for our own sins, God promises eternal life.

But there's more! The cross is a symbol of how we are to live. The vertical beam represents our relationship to God, and the horizontal beam represents our relationship with other people. Of course, the vertical component is longer, because it's more important.

Luke 10:25-28 reinforces this. "Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And he said rto him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.""