Standing at the Foot of the Cross

Luke records these words, "And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him..." (Luke 23:33). When is the last time you stood at the foot of the cross? When you were there, what did you see?

Standing at the foot of the cross, and what do I see? But a savior who offers love looking down at me.

Someone asks, "Why did Jesus die the humiliating death of the cross?" The answer—"Because He loved me so!" John writes, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Jesus taught, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:12-13).
When I stand at the foot of the cross, I see a loving Savior giving His life, His all, for me. What should my response be to that love? Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Will you love the Lord enough to come to him in trusting obedience, being washed in the blood of Christ by being baptized for the forgiveness of your sins?

Standing at the foot of the cross, and what do I see? But a savior who offers grace looking down at me.

It was John Newton who wrote—"Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see." What beautiful sentiments.
The little boy defined grace as "unmerited favor." In other words, grace is a "free gift." The word "grace" is found in more than 150 verses of the Bible. It is this grace that makes salvation possible.
Paul accentuates God's grace over and over again in the book of Ephesians. It is in this book that we find the words, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). The word "grace" here represents all that God did in order to make salvation possible. The word "faith" represents the little that we do to make salvation probable.
By faith, we activate this free gift (salvation) by repenting, confessing, and being baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sin.

Standing at the foot of the cross, and what do I see? But a savior who offers forgiveness looking down at me.

The Bible contains over 277,000 words. One of the most beautiful words in the Bible is the word "forgiveness." Why? Because forgiveness implies forgetfulness.
Political offenders are sometimes granted what is called "an amnesty"—that means a not remembering. This is precisely what God grants to all who submit to Him through His Son Jesus. No matter how many the offences, the God who is ready to pardon says, "Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more" (Hebrews 10:17).
God says, "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins" (Isaiah 43:25). We serve a God who is not only ready to forgive our sins, but to forget those sins as well. God's Son was sent to the cross because He does not desire anyone to be lost in sin. He is ready to forget, He is longing to forget, and He is willing to forget every sin that I have ever committed. Will you repent of your sins and be baptized to have them washed away (Acts 2:38)?

Standing at the foot of the cross, and what do I see? But a savior who offers peace looking down at me.

The woman said to her physician, "Doc, I'm all run down." The physician replied, "Run down? Ma'am, you're all wound up!"
We live in an age of day-to-day grind, tight schedules, detailed time-management, and ever-increasing responsibilities. Not to mention the fact that we must occasionally deal with disappointment, depression, despair, disease, and death. Job's words, "Yet trouble came" is true of any age (Job 3:26).
In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of life, Jesus is a source of comfort, offering a unique peace of mind. We can take His words to heart, when He said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you, Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27).
When we obey the gospel of Christ in baptism, as God prescribed (Acts 22:16), then we observe the same unique calm that Paul did, as we faithfully live before the "God of peace," in view of the final judgment.

Standing at the foot of the cross, and what do I see? But a savior who offers hope looking down at me.

The psalmist penned these words, "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God" (Psalm 146:5). Peter wrote, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3). Happiness and hope go hand-in-hand. Happy is the man who hopes in heaven.
What is the meaning of the word "hope?" Hope is the desire and expectation of fulfillment.
Paul wrote that we are saved by hope (Romans 8:24). Hope and obedience go together. Without these one cannot see heaven (Hebrews 11:6). Do you want to see heaven? Do you "hope" to see heaven?

When I look at the cross, I see a savior who offers me hope in "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:4). Will you obey the Lord so that heaven will be your home?