The following comes from my book, MORE
Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals
The Archbishop of Paris was preaching to a large congregation in Notre Dame cathedral. He told the story of three rebellious young men who wandered into the cathedral one day. Two of the men made a bet with the third man that he would not make a fake confession to the priest. He accepted the bet and went to the priest for confession, making up a story about a sin he had committed.
When he finished, the priest said, “Go to the crucifix over there, kneel down before it, and repeat three times, ‘All this you did for me and I don’t really care.’” The young man knelt before the crucifix, looked up at the face of Jesus on the cross and said, “All this you did for me, and I …”
He choked up and tried again. “All this you did ...” He couldn’t go any further. His heart broke and he started sobbing. For the first time in his life, he understood what Jesus had done for him by sacrificing His life. The archbishop finished his sermon by saying, “You might think I made up this story, but it’s true. I was that young man!”
What should we see when we look at the cross? We see Jesus taking our sins upon Himself. “He Himself bore our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:14). We see Him opening the door into heaven “so that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus didn’t have to die for us, but He did, so that we could spend eternity with Him.
People who look at the cross and walk away unchanged do not see what happened there. Do you see it? Do you see what actually happened at the cross? Most people don’t see it. I hope you do. www.makinglifecount.net www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com
