May I never boast except in the Cross of our LORD Jesus Christ … Gal. 6:14 (NET)

When I was a young kid, I used to read a lot. Lots of mythology, fantasy stories, etc. But I had not read the Bible and I did not know much about being a Christian. There is this Catholic church in our town and there used to be this huge crucifix on the side of the road. I was twelve when one of my classmates asked me why was Jesus hanging from the Cross. And I had no idea. My mom got furious that I knew so much about other religions, but I had no idea why Jesus was hanging from the Cross. She made me read the New Testament.
As I was reading the Gospel according to Matthew, I was confused . This God is not like any other gods I have read in the mythology. To be honest, I was actually bored . But for a young impressionable kid, who was looking for a super-hero, the worst thing happened when I turned to Chapter 27 of the Gospel. In verses 40 and 42, Jesus who had been already crucified, was being taunted by two groups.

“Come down from the Cross, if You are the Son of God” – Matthew 27:40 (NIV)

“Let Him come down now from the Cross, and we will believe in Him.” – Matthew 27:42 (NIV)

I was really expecting that Jesus would come down from the Cross and prove that He is the Son of God to those who were mocking Him. To say that I was disappointed that He did not do that would be an understatement. But not only HE did not come down from the Cross, He did something that none of the superheroes had done – HE cried aloud, saying, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” and He died. I felt very let down. I closed the Bible, sat there wondering how my favorite heroes would have fought and beaten the hell out of everyone who tried to crucify them.

That was a long time ago. Now, as I read the same passages again and again, I am just grateful that the LORD Jesus Christ in His infinite grace has chosen that 12 year old disappointed kid to be saved from the schemes of devil and the gates of hell by His great sacrifice on Calvary that day. Now, I understand why Jesus had to die on the Cross that day. Now it makes sense why He did not come down from the Cross when his enemies were taunting Him. Now, there is a prayer in my heart and all I can say to God our Father is this:

“May I never boast about anything except the Cross of our LORD Jesus Christ.” – Gal. 6:14 (NLT)

Yes, as I meditate more on the Cross and what happened that day at Calvary when our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ was crucified, all I want are two things: 1. may I boast only about the Cross of our LORD Jesus Christ and 2. may I never boast about anything else.

I boast about the Cross of our LORD Jesus Christ because

1. of the love of Jesus Christ who suffered there for you and me
2. of the love of the God our Father who gave His only Son for you and me
3. innocent blood was shed there so that our sins could be forgiven
4. Jesus Christ bore all our sins so that we could become righteous in the eyes of the Most Holy God
5. Jesus Christ became a curse for us, so that we could receive the Abrahamic blessings and be blessed
6. of His stripes, we are healed
7. the punishment for our peace fell upon Him at the Cross
8. the dominion of sin came to an end in our life
9. we became dead to the world and are made alive to God and
10. He shared our sufferings, sorrows, loneliness and everything else, and showed us how to emerge victorious.

There are many more reasons why I boast about the Cross of our LORD Jesus Christ. But of all those things, first and foremost the Cross of our LORD Jesus Christ means to me is:

Yes, the Cross of our LORD Jesus Christ means the celebration of love our God has for us. The Cross of our LORD Jesus Christ explains how much Jesus Christ loves us. The Cross of our LORD Jesus Christ means, above everything else, that He loves us abundantly. And filled with the abundance of love that the Cross of our LORD Jesus Christ brings, I will proclaim wholeheartedly, with apostle Paul…

Isaiah 53:3-4“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a Man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like One from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem. Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.