That Old, Rugged Cross

   "To the old, rugged cross, I will ever be true, its shame and reproach gladly bear...."  pretty much sums up where I stand and what I stand for. I'm not a member of the "Truth Movement" per se, ( though I rejoice in the truth!) but one who holds to the truth of the Bible, which has greatly come under attack lately. When Pontius Pilate sarcastically asked Christ, "What is truth?" our Lord might well have answered, "Yer lookin' at it, Numb-nuts!" (FYI, He didn't)
   But what is it about that old rugged cross? It's what sets Christianity apart from every other religion in the world. For every other founder of every other faith says, "Follow me, people; I did it and you can do it, too!" It being not merely acceptance by God, but becoming one with Him: becoming a god in your own right (and by your own efforts).
   But the old, rugged cross says, "Not so fast!" 'Cuz something happened there. Something gross, and ugly and wrong. "For 'twas there on that cross that the dear Lamb of God for a world of lost sinners was slain". See, we couldn't ascend Jacob's ladder up to God; He had to come down here to our level....to the lowest level, and be executed like a common criminal.
   "That old, rugged cross, so despised by the world..." Why do they despise it? Because it brands us guilty sinners....they know in their hearts they deserve to die there, but they don't wanna hear it. They don't want to hear about absolute, black or white right and wrong. "I'm ok, you're ok" is the message they want to hear.
   But it's not the message I preach! I don't care if I don't fit in: I never did fit in anyway! Here's the reality: THERE IS NONE GOOD, NO NOT ONE. and ALL OUR RIGHTEOUSNESSES ARE AS FILTHY RAGS. On that cross, Jesus took our sins, and gave us His righteousness. That's the message I live for, and if so be the will of God, I shall die for.
   So let some stuck-up atheist sue the town of so-and-so to take down that cross; His nail-pierced hands are stretched out still, and still He cries, "Come to Me, you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." But this is, as they say, a limited -time offer, as the Holy Ghost says in David, "TODAY, if you will hear His voice"!
   Tomorrow? The day is coming when the grace period on the human race ends. The time is coming when, as in the time of Noah God closed the door of the ark. I don't care what everyone else is saying or doing, let them follow their fads & trends. I will cling to the old, rugged cross.