(Click here for a video of John reading tis Catch.)

The cross is not a placard;

It’s not an icon;

It’s not a religious symbol.

The cross is not a piece of jewelry,

Nor is it a call to fight.

The cross is not a political symbol.

The cross is not a weapon.

The cross is not a sign of victory.

On the contrary, 

The cross is where we die.

All of our good intentions —

All of our achievements,

All of our successes,

All of our best efforts,

All of our awards,

Die at the cross.

The cross is a complete reversal on how to change the world.

It is the opposite of power and strength.

It is the championing of weakness,

The crowning of impotence.

The cross declares the end of justification.

It achieves its ends without winning;

It conquers without firing a shot.

The cross wins by losing;

It succeeds through failure.

The cross is not the way of the world —

Never has been, never will be.

The cross cannot align itself with any worldly power because

It is the antithesis of that power.

The cross embraces humiliation.

It gets us into the city

Through the small gate in the wall

Where no camel can pass.

The cross is low —

Very low —

As low as you can go.

The cross is where sin entered Jesus and He died.

And that’s why we die too

Because it was our sin

That did Him in.

But that’s just it.

His burial buried our sin

Forever

And when He arose, sin free,

So did we

Not to ourselves anymore,

But to Him.