The Meaning of the Cross, Day 29

Welcome to day 29 of our series, “40 Days of the Cross.” Each day we are taking just a few minutes to look at a word that will help us better understand the meaning of the cross. 

Today’s word is liberation. Singer/songwriter Bob Dylan wrote a song that was featured in his album, “Slow Train Coming.” The title of the song is “Gotta Serve Somebody.” The message of the song is that no matter who you are, no matter what your accomplishments, no matter how important you think you are, we all serve somebody. The two choices Dylan repeats in his song are, “it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” 

His sentiment is basically true. There are two spiritual powers competing for the devotion of your heart. The kingdom of this world, led by the spirit of Satan, and the Kingdom of God, led by the Spirit of Christ. The bad news is that we are born serving the power of the evil one. Just as the children of American slaves, for 300 years, were born into slavery, all of humankind was born into slavery to sin. But the good news is that the cross has provided us liberation from the slavery of sin. We have been liberated from the bondage of sin. But Bob Dylan was right: we have to serve SOMEbody. 

In his letter to the church in Rome, the apostle Paul put it this way: “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18). We have been liberated from our bondage to sin thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, but in turn, we surrender our freedom to the One who sacrificed Himself on the cross.

This is a willing surrender of ourselves to Him who paid for our liberation by His death on the cross. He who showed His ultimate love for us, freeing us from darkness, deserves our ultimate surrender. We’ll talk more about darkness tomorrow. 

After we pray today, I encourage you to take a few minutes to meditate on the liberation from sin that was purchased for us by Jesus’ death on the cross.
 

Heavenly Father, thank you for the cross, and for liberating us from the bondage of sin. Help us by the power of Your Spirit to continually surrender ourselves to your loving hand. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Thanks for reading today.

Continued tomorrow