The Cross has come to be the universal symbol of the Christian faith, because it reminds us of the most astonishing and important event in the Life of Jesus of Nazareth.
   

   It was astonishing because Jesus the Messiah (God's chosen one)  was executed like a common criminal. The Jews found it impossible to accept that such a person could really be the Son of God-and many ordinary people just could not understand how the world could be saved by a person who had met such a bizarre death.

    Yet to the early Christians, the Cross had a deep meaning. It was at the heart of all that God has planned for his people. Paul was quite sure that the Cross was all important-so much so that he wrote to the Corinthian Christians:  "While I was with you, I made up my mind to forget everything except Jesus Christ and especially his death on the Cross."

    The New Testament makes it clear that Jesus died on the Cross, not because of His own wrong doing (the charges against Him were false), but in the place of sinful men and women. He experienced the separation from God which they deserved, and so made possible forgiveness and new life for all who will trust their lives to Jesus as the One who died for our sins and rose from the dead.

    In Jesus' death on the Cross, we see the the depths of Gods love. As a result of this, men and women can be reconciled both to God and each other. God defeated all powers of evil.

    The Cross is also a dramatic symbol of the sort of life Christians ought to live. Jesus called the people to take up their Cross and follow Him.  He called them to a life of self sacrifice. They must give up their own claims over their own lives, and live in the power of the new life which God gives them. Paul understood what this meant. He said "I have been put to death with Christ on His cross, so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in Me."