Be Thankful But Don’t Camp Under the Empty Cross

I am forever grateful for the price Jesus paid for me but I won't camp under the empty cross. Christ rose victorious!

As is my yearly practice, as this is Holy Week on the Christian calendar, I will be reading each narrative found in the Bible that portrays the immediate events that led up to the Cross. I will pause and feast on Jesus’ great discourse in John 14-17. I will pause and somberly reflect on His sufferings and ultimate sacrifice.

Please never doubt, I am eternally grateful for Christ’s sacrifice and the redemption He bought on my behalf through His suffering on the cross. However, I will never take full advantage of all that was purchased for me on that day if I set up camp at the base of the cross and never budge.

Jesus is no longer on the cross; His horrific physical ordeal is over. He is no longer in the tomb. His victory over death is eternal.

Jesus is alive!

John 20:11-18 – “But Mary was standing outside the tomb, weeping; so as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb; and she *saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She *said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they put Him.” When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and yet she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Thinking that He was the gardener, she *said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you put Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She turned, and *said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene *came and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.

Jesus did not allow Mary to dwell at the empty tomb for long. No! He sent her out with this charge. Go! Tell! Bring the good news to the others! Live the life I died for, and live it well!

Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Paul asserts, “I HAVE BEEN crucified with Christ.” Note the past tense – he doesn’t use the active present tense. I am not hanging on the cross; my old man has died! I don’t need to re-crucify myself to prove my loyalty to Him. I don’t always have to picture Jesus on the cross to show how grateful I am for His victory.

The life I NOW live, post-crucifixion, is a life lived IN and THROUGH the One who conquered death. Jesus calls me forward and calls us to live an abundant life.

While I live my life always mindful of the price paid on the cross by His sacrifice, I don’t just stop there. I try to live each day fully utilizing the power, freedom, and victory that was won on Resurrection Day!

I invite you to join me. Pause, reflect, put yourself in Jesus’ story this week, let the weight of that sacrifice sink in, but then…

Go! Thrive! Bless others, do the works Christ called you to do today and do so with joy and with the knowledge that your Heavenly Father loves when His children take full advantage of all He has given them.

John 10:10 – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

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From November 2020 forward, all Bible verses attributed to the NASB version unless otherwise indicated.

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Until Next Week,

©2021 Katherine Walden

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