Two Different Crosses by John Avant

This past week Passion Promise Ministries had an astonishing week joining partners across Central Florida ministering on six different university campuses.  Many students made a decision to follow Christ. 

On every campus we saw both the power of the cross as well as fierce opposition to the message of the cross. And that is to be expected:

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬ ‭

I learned two unforgettable lessons from two different university students.  

On the campus of Daytona State College, we saw a student wearing a gold cross. One of our team told him that he liked his cross and asked him if he was a follower of Christ.  He told us he was not!  When we asked him why he wore a cross then, he smiled and said, “It makes my Mom happy.”

On the other hand, on the campus of the University of Central Florida, I was able to share with a student named Benito.  He was a long way from Christ when we first started talking. But then we began to discuss suffering and how the Cross brings God into our suffering and means we are never alone in our pain. The tears began to come down his cheeks! The message of the Cross was powerful to him!

Later that day, Benito became our brother in Christ! 

What does the Cross actually mean to you today? How does the cross of Christ change the way you live, the way you think, and the way you treat others?

I am afraid that for many in the American church, the Cross doesn’t mean much. If it keeps mama happy, so be it.   

But it doesn’t have to be that way. It is tragic when it is.

Because from the death of Christ on the cross comes all life that truly matters. The answer to all of your sin, all of your brokenness, all of your loneliness, and to death itself.  It’s all in the Cross. 

Thank him for the Cross today! 

It’s more than jewelry. It’s more than religion.  

The Cross is life. 

“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.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬ ‭