Yesterday I was once again on the way to a basketball game. I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the sound of the girls gossiping, coach going over his directions, and the repetitiveness of the cars whizzing past. So, as usual, I plugged my ipod into my ears and stared blankly out the window watching the world pass by. We came to a stop light and right outside my window was a juvenile detention center. I noticed there were four men dressed in military uniforms marching toward the flags. It was right around sun down and they were taking down the flags. I watched curiously as they systematically went through the protocol of taking down the flags. Three stood saluting as the other slowly and almost rhythmically lowered the flags. As the bus pulled away I thought to myself… kind of silly to do all that just for a flag. See, we as Americans see the flag as just another bumper sticker on our cars, design on our t-shirts, or cover on our history books. We see the symbol for what it is and not for what is stands for. I think Christians do the same thing with the cross. It has become just another symbol of Christianity. The problem with that is; that’s not what the cross symbolizes. The cross symbolizes death and pain and suffering. The cross symbolizes the agony that Christ went through in order to give the undeserving a chance at life. The cross doesn’t symbolize a religion; it symbolizes and act that gave us a chance and a relationship. With the same reverence that soldiers have for the flag, we should revere the cross.
Ecclesiastes 5:7 (NIV)
Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.
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