Hebrews 12:1-2
In 1889 Menelik II became emperor of Ethiopia
and ruled for 24 years. In his efforts to modernize Ethiopia, Menelik purchased electric chairs from New York because he hated the brutal execution methods in his country. It was only after they were unpacked in
Ethiopia that Menelik realized that the chairs needed electricity to work. Ethiopia had no electricity in those days. So
what did he do? As the story goes, Menelik
used one of the chairs as his throne.
Thus an electric chair, an instrument of execution, became one of
the symbols of the Menelik’s power and might.
While that seems bizarre to many, we Christians also take pride in a symbol
that was once an instrument of execution - the cross.
In Jesus’ day a cross was neither jewelry or nor
decoration. The cross was an instrument of death. Slaves and rebels were
crucified. For the first century Jew hanging on
the cross was a curse by God. However
Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords, chose the shame of the cross for our sake.
Just as Jesus“…the Son of Man came not to be served but to
serve” (Matthew 20:28) Jesus humbled himself and chose death to provide us everlasting life. And he chose an instrument of shame
and death to teach us that His kingdom is very different compared to any other earthly kingdom. While “the message of the cross is foolishness
to those who are perishing”( I Corinthians 1:18), to
us “who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Now if we were to look at Jesus’ teachings we
can summarize them this way- ‘I am the Son of God; I am the way to the father;
I have come to die for your sins; I have taken up the
cross for you; I rose for your salvation; so now you take up your cross for me
and follow me.’
So what should we do? Humbly turn to Christ and ask God to help follow
Jesus.
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