This life is dying the moment we are born. The cross is the truth about this life. This life is about dying. This life is defeat punctuated by moments of joy, which in turn fade immediately. We do our best to deny that reality.
Some psychologists say, rightly, that our entire lives are lived in denial.
And then Jesus comes along and willingly goes to the cross and rubs our face in the reality of death. Not even God's son escapes it. But then comes the good thing, the incredibly puzzling yet true thing. God turns death inside out. Through an act of creative power, God brings new life, a new creation, and the promise of a life without death.