True life begins at the cross where we receive new life in
Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has
passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17). If we forget this
beginning, we forget who we are in Christ. We will either think too highly of
ourselves—“my righteousness is my own;” or we will think too little of
ourselves—“I’m a hopeless sinner.” But when we remember the cross we know that
our righteousness comes from Him and we are neither righteous in ourselves nor
hopelessly lost.
All of life should flow from the cross because Christ is our
strength. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).
The cross reminds us of the One who endured great suffering on our behalf in
order that He might live in us and enable us to abide in Him. Without the cross
our striving is in vain, but with it we have strength for today and hope for
tomorrow.
Our activities should be constantly referring back to the
cross as our standard. “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). We
tend to forget that our life in Christ began with suffering. We are never
promised a life free of suffering. Serving our Lord means serving others. We
may have to give up some of our comforts and independence if we are to give our
lives in love.
Unlike running laps and circling back to the cross, we have
the privilege of taking the cross with us wherever we go. However, there may be
times when we choose to turn our backs on the cross and venture into sin. But
when we realize our error we can turn around and find that the cross is right
there.
Thinking back to my years of track and cross-country, there
were a few lessons the coach tried to instill in us. First, practice like
you’re really running the race, otherwise you’ll run the race as if you’re just
practicing. Second, don’t stop running until you’ve crossed the finish line. I
don’t know how many girls I passed in the last few meters because they slowed
down at the end. Third, even if you trip over the last hurdle (as I did) you
still get up and finish the race.
I wonder if we tend to treat the Christian life the same
way? We figure we’ve already got salvation (the prize), so we don’t need to put
any effort into the race. Or we bemoan the fact that we’ve fallen, so we don’t
bother to get up and keep running. Fortunately we’re not running alone. We have
many people surrounding us who not only cheer us on but also help us on the way.
We aren’t trying to beat the competition to the line, but we lift up the
wounded and weary to make sure we arrive together.
Scripture gives several reminders that this race is not over
and we want to be found faithful. (See 1 Cor. 9:24-27, Gal. 2:2, Phil. 2:14-16,
Heb. 12:1-3.) May we persevere and keep our focus until the very end. May we
not grow weary and abandon our first love (Rev. 2:3-4)!
