The Hefty Price

I’m already thinking about early morning drills at the end of July when football season begins. I’ll be in the company of 30-plus anxious high school kids, and a handful of coaches, who are all foaming at the mouth in anticipation of the infamous two-a-days.

We begin conditioning promptly at 8 a.m., we look at film, have position meetings, get some time to eat, and then we’re back on the field to install offensive and defensive strategies. Two full weeks of struggle, pain, fatigue, cramps and mental stress won't serve as motivation until coach reminds all of us of the goal, that is, to be champions. He reminds us that being champions comes with a hefty price.

We must never forget the cross of Christ. The matter of the cross brings to remembrance the suffering and shame that Jesus Christ bore for our sins. It is not a glamorous issue, but rather gloomy. The cross was reserved for the lowest of criminals. It was a foreign form of execution urged on by His own countrymen. The cross was soaked in Jesus’ blood. Words of mockery and insults were hurled at Jesus as He hung on that cross. Jesus—bloody, bruised and battered—hung on the cross for three hours. And He did not come off of the cross until it was finished.

If we are to follow Christ, we too must carry our own instrument of suffering and shame on a daily basis (Luke 9:23). The truth is, to some, the cross is offensive (Galatians 5:11). But Jesus Christ bore the cross for us (Romans 5:8)! Here is an old, but accurate statement: “We owed a debt we could not pay, and He paid a debt He did not owe.” Jesus Christ put Himself in my place and He paid it all!

As you enjoy your day, whether in tragedy or triumph, let us not forget the hefty price that was paid to satisfy God’s righteous wrath.

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.
~William Brennard, 1913