The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1962-04-13
The Cross Calls
Lesson for April Is, 1862

We do not always talk the whole
time of what lies closest to our
hearts. A man may take some
things for granted even when
his friends do not know it. For
that great Christian Saint Paul,
the Cross Of Christ was the cen
trail thing in life, not his own
life only. but that of all men. The
Cross "reconciles all things" he
wrote to the Colossianse (Col. L.
2O. Those who knew Paul knew
this; so when he writes to his
friends he does not mention the
Cross in every paragraph. In the
letter he writes to Titus, for ex-
ample, an observant reader can
find some fervent and grateful
references to the cross Of Christ;
but most of the letter is Gap
parently) on other matters. Yet
the Cross is always there, in
Paul's thought. It was in his
life, to begin with, of course.
The Cross Calls
Without trying to 60 into the
details of this short letter to Tit
us, We may take it as a kind Of
sample, or background, to indi-
cate how a man who found the
cross Of Christ central in his
life, acted and thought-and
wished his friends to do likewise.
Including everything else, we
might say that the Cross calls.
The death, not less than the life
and teachings Of Christ. has a
THEREFORE that comes with
it. The Cross is not something
one can take seriously and go on
living as if it had not happened.
Paul has seen into the meaning
Of it. HE it is who sacrificed
himself for us, to set us free
from all wickedness and to make
us eager to do good" Titus
2:14, New English Bible. God
had purpose in the Cross; do we
share it? Is the crucifixion just
something that happened, or is it
something that happens to me?
Is the crucifixion just another
horror-story in a tragic world, or
is it God calling us away from
evil to be his very own? Among
the other things which Paul here
says about the Christian life, one
is specially intriguing. Speaking
to slaves especially, people at
the very bottom Of the human
pyramid. Paul calls on them to
"adorn the doctrine of Cod"
Truth about God is beautiful; but
unless it is adorned" by the
lives Of those who believe it, even
the most important truths re-
main only dry propositions.
The Cross Compels
Some who read Titus for the
first time are not attracted to it.
There is kind Of hardness about
the letter. 1t is full of such ex-
pressions as MUST" should"
''see to it," insist" 1t is full of
imperatives. AS translated in the
New English Bible, Paul says
that by the grace Of God we are
what do you expect him to
say? - enlightened, conaforted.
editified. enraptured, made hap
py and bold? No, not any of
these I've are disciplined.
"We'-Paul and Titus, Paul
and Titus and Christians today
put your own name in if YOU
will-are disciplined by the grace
OF God. which Paul makes
clear comes to us throgh the
cross of ChriSt'S sacrifice.
Before We complain too much
about that being harsh way to
think of the grace of God, we
might remember some of the
things being said today about the
general flabbinesS Of eaSy-living
Americans. and how we all need
to beconTn more hard lie. more
fit than we are.
The Cross Consoles
The sadness Of the world is
great, has always been great.
Does the Cross deepen the shad-
oWs? It was a terrible event.
Even supposing Christ to have
been no more than a man, it is
tragic that a young prophet, the
teacher who gave us the Sermon
on the Mount, was murdered-for
1t was essentially a legal muir
derby his own people. But
supposing Christ to have been
the Lord of Glory, the Son Of
God, the tragedy is made in
flnitely worse. For this means
that the goodness of God him.
self was rejected in hate. The
cruclfixion, whoever Jesus was.
stands out as inhulnan. but il
this was truly the Son OF God,
them TO cruelty him was decd
Tor demons. No other tragic
event III history Witnesses 10
worse than this. And yet, from
the beginning. Ch-icuans have
been declaring. as Paul does oft
en-. that the death of Christ, so
far from depending the shad-
ows, brings to the world its onlv
consolation: that while we were
yet sinners. Christ died for
u.s."
BASED on outlines copyrighted