A Constant Reminder
What I am about to share is far greater and more important than I can do justice to. But truth be told, I have always realized my complete inadequacy at effectively communicating the wondrous truths of our redemption in Christ. And that sense of inadequacy has always driven me to my knees seeking the help of the Holy Spirit.
When I speak or write I am completely dependent on the Holy Spirit to ensure my words are from the heart of God, not simply the mind of Steve Vickers. So, again I venture out trusting Him to use this earthen vessel to share words that will be a cool, refreshing drink to you, my fellow travelers.
When we lived in Studio City, California, I regularly took the 101 Freeway, also known as the Hollywood Freeway. Sitting on a hill high above the freeway at the Cahuenga Pass is the 32-foot-tall steel Hollywood Cross. Every day it was a comforting sight as I drove home. For one, it meant I was almost home, but it also reminded me of the One who hung between heaven and earth on a wooden cross paying the price for our salvation. Every time I saw that cross my heart was comforted as a sense of peace swept over me.
The Hollywood Cross was erected in memory of Christine Wetherill Stevenson, heiress to Pittsburgh Paint, who, among other things, funded an outdoor amphitheater at Cahuenga Pass, which is now the Hollywood Bowl. The Cross is now owned by Church on the Way in Van Nuys and stands as a tall, silent witness, yet speaking volumes to all who pass by. You have most likely seen it in a movie, as Hollywood cannot seem to ignore it.
The effect of the cross on all people cannot be denied. Throughout the world it is the most recognizable symbol of Christianity. So much so that it is unlawful in some nations to display it. How could a symbol have such power? The answer to that question is obvious: it is not the cross itself that is a threat to nations and religions—it is what it represents, more specifically Who it represents—Jesus Christ.
“If I be lifted up (He was lifted up, on a wooden cross) I will draw all men to Me.”
What Happened There
I would love to say much about the Cross of Christ, but due to the importance and immensity of the subject there is no way I could do it justice in the few lines I have available in our time here. I will, however, quote the Apostle Paul in a statement he made concerning the cross—“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
There on that cross, hanging between heaven and earth, the sinless Son of God, beaten, bleeding, and dying, purchased our salvation. One lonely man bearing the sins of all humanity, facing the judgment of a holy God for us all that we might be forgiven and free—completely free. Free to be all God intended when He created Adam—the sons and daughters of God.
By His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of all mankind. He took our guilt, our shame, our sorrows, pains, sickness, and disease—He bore it all, fully satisfying the just demands of the Law of God. The soul that sins must die, so Jesus died for us all that we might live.
At that cross God Almighty unleashed His holy anger, not against man, but against sin. God judged sin—all sin—every sin that has ever been committed or ever will be committed—God judged at the cross in the sacrifice of His Son. The wrath of God against sin and rebellion was poured out on Jesus at the cross.
“So, I’ll cherish the old rugged cross ’til my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it one day for a crown.”
There Is Room
I returned to the States from military service on a Saturday evening in June 1971. The very next evening my life was drastically changed by the One who hung on that cross. I knelt at a wooden bench an angry, selfish, empty man; prayed a simple prayer all by myself; and rose to my feet a new man. In an instant all the junk that had filled and polluted my life was gone, and in its place a peace I had never experienced or knew existed flooded my heart. And love…oh, the love…a genuine, pure love seemed to be poured into my heart like liquid oil.
For the first time in my life I knew what love is—I experienced it. Words fail me to adequately describe what happened in that moment—a moment, not a lifetime or years, a moment. My life was changed in a moment…because of that Cross and the Man who gave His life there for me, and for all people everywhere.
What happened at that cross is the single greatest event in human history. No other event has had the impact on humanity as that one single event by one solitary Man offering Himself for us all.
Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable (indescribable, undeserved) gift of Jesus Christ His only Son. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” I have quoted that verse thousands of times as I shared the gospel with people and witnessed the power of that single truth as the Holy Spirit translated them from the kingdom of darkness and the bondages of sin and Satan into the liberty of the kingdom of God.
When I was a little boy Dad and Mom took my brother and me to a stadium to hear a preacher by the name of Billy Graham. At the end of his sermon, as he was giving a call for people to accept Jesus as Savior, he made this statement—“There is room at the cross for you.”
My friend, whatever you need, whatever battles you may be fighting, whatever pains, sorrows, or regrets may plague your life—I promise this—you will find all the help you need at the Cross in Jesus Christ. Bring your burdens, your loved ones, everything to Him, and you will always find…
There is room at the cross for you.