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The Cross Alone

Love cannot truly be activated without sacrifice. It is the cornerstone of building relationships. Without it, we are left with a myriad of words and prose that amount to nothing. Sacrifice is the extent to which one will go to show and prove the depth of their love. Without sacrifice, we are left to wonder if words spoken are credible. Sacrifice is the true predicate of the sentence, “I love you.” When God decided to reveal the enormous extent of His love for us, He decided, before all creation and worlds were formed, to make the ultimate sacrifice--to slay a Lamb out of time and to ransom a Son within it. His love for us caused Him to decide before any conditions were created, to reveal Himself as the One who loved us unconditionally. He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ. One of a kind. Without spot or blemish. Perfect. Clothing Him in flesh, condescending to the walk and thoughts of man and leading Him to the most painful death that sin could merit. And He did it on a cross--the most excruciating & embarrasing of Roman penalties. On it, life died so that love could live. The Cross is not only the saving grace for humanity, but it is the ultimate “love letter” inscribed in blood that can never fade or be erased. More than this, this love sacrifice was ONCE AND FOR ALL. The Cross took care of it completely. Everything changed at Calvary. Golgotha has a renewed mind. No other religious idea, ritual, restriction or relationship can ever surmount the work and the worth proven there. Paul, in his letter to Galatia sums it up perfectly:

“Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciple. As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me also has died. It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.” Galatians 6:12-15 NLT

So, nothing needs to be added. Everything changed there. The Cross Alone. 

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