The Cross
|
One spring, my husband and I decided to prepare a piece of land and grow potatoes. We live in a mountainous area, so I hired a bulldozer to prepare the land. I am always grateful to the Lord for creating brilliant minds who can imagine and create things that make our lives easier. The bulldozer started to scoop deeply into the earth when suddenly I heard a crunch of stone. The man operating the machine gently placed the load on the ground, and we all moved closer to identify the object that lay in the excavator bucket.
To our amazement we discovered a heavy stone cross, slightly broken on one side. We cleared it with great excitement and wondered what a cross was doing in our garden. My husband remembered that there was a time when every family buried their dead on their property, but he did not remember who might have been buried there.
When I was able to identify the name on the cross, my husband recalled family stories about a woman who bore the name on the beautifully carved stone cross. It was dated 1830. I put the cross in the garden where I can look at it when I go out to weed my field. It reminds me of another cross and the One who was crucified for me.
I have not been able to learn much about our great-great-grandmother in the garden. I do not know what kind of person she was, what she loved, or even how long she lived, but I do know so much about my Savior. He has compassion for human suffering. When my Savior lived on earth, He healed the sick, raised the dead, and loved much.
He hated sin and hypocrisy, forgave much, and saved all who came to Him for eternal life. We had discovered a cross that remained hidden for more than seventy years. No one remembered it or even knew it was there. What about the cross of our Savior? Is it buried under the clutter in our lives? Hiding behind habits we need to let go? Can anyone see the resurrected, living Christ within us? What do we do with Jesus? It seems to me that this old stone cross was all I needed to remind me anew of Jesus’ cross and all He has done for me.
He promises, “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33, NKJV).
Let us honor His sacrifice today and share His love with others.
Florentina Coman
