Recently I came across this devotion written by my late husband, Dr. Art O’Dell. I wanted to share it as we remember the cross and what it means to each of us. —Ann
A Devotion based on Luke 23:26-49
By Art O’Dell
“And when they came to the place of the Skull, there they crucified Him…” Luke 23:33
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (I Corinthians 1:18)
As we sprinted to the car through the raindrops on the Thursday before Good Friday, my wife Ann made the observation that it often seems to rain on Good Friday. I stored that bit of information in my memory bank. Later it occurred to me that storms occur at the point when opposing forces- cold and warm air- come together. At the place where they meet, the temperature changes, dark clouds form, thunder booms, lightning flashes and the rain falls. Everyone along the front feels its effect; no one escapes its impact.
So it is with Good Friday. The cross is the meeting place of the opposing forces of God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness; God’s power and man’s impotence; God’s love and man’s hate. Calvary is the frontline of the battle between God’s selfless work and man’s selfish will.
The place of the cross is a place of …
…DOUBT as some question his “Godness” and refuse to see Him as anything more than a good man or a noted teacher (v. 35).
…DERISION as some mock and question His power to overcome the forces of evil (v. 35).
...DEFIANCE as some demand salvation without submission; desiring Jesus as savior but denying Him as Lord (vs.39).
…DISTANCE as the cost of identification with a crucified leader pushes some to follow from afar; respecting His life but fearing his death (v. 49).
…DARKNESS as creation mourned the break of fellowship between Father and Son (v. 44).
…DEATH as the Lamb of God lays down his life as a perfect sacrifice to atone for the sins of those who killed him (v. 46).
…DISCOVERY where the reality of our rebellion meets the standard of God’s holiness (v. 41).
…DECISION where our prideful self-determination bows in humble submission to His superior plan (v.42).
…DISMISSAL OF CHARGES and DELIVERANCE where God’s life-giving forgiveness meets our death-producing sinfulness (v.34,43).
…DRAWING where a searching God meets lost souls (v.45).
Of all things that the place of the cross is, one thing it is not is a place of neutrality or apathy. You must respond. At Calvary, you stand at the foot of the cross, confronted with the claims of a crucified Christ. Some of us will shake our heads in disbelief and denial. Others will shake our fists in defiance. Still, others of us will lift our hands in divine worship and bow our heads in deferential humility and thankfulness. One thing is true, however, no one who faces the cross will remain the same. What will you do with the cross of Christ?