The Controversy of the Cross

"The most obscene symbol in human history is the cross; yet in its ugliness it remains the most eloquent testimony to human dignity."

The above sentence was extracted from R.C. Sproul's In Search of Dignity. The cross has always been a matter of curiosity to me. Some sing about a 'wondrous cross' and others call it lovely or other similar terms of a pleasant nature. In reality the cross was a rugged, ugly, vile, and contemptible affair. Off of it hung the criminal and traitor. It was a death for the damned. It was a matter of shame.

Yet it was there that my Christ stretched out His hands to offer me the most precious gift. Someone once told me that missionaries did not open their hands to receive or take in but only to give. I can attest to that. Missionaries are sacrificial and generous. Yet the same is true of Christ, to a magnified degree, of course. Christ opened His hands to give. The one time that He opened them to take something was when He took the nails and even then He opened them to be able to give us the greatest gift ever known to man.