because He has been raised from the dead, we are raised to new life with Him. We are called to follow Him, bearing in mind the sacrifice He made for us and the sacrifice He requires from us. Paul wrote in Galatians 2:
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."
We are recipients of the grace of God - Jesus, in His love for us, suffered a cruel, painful, and humiliating death for the sins of all humanity. The sight of a cross can remind us of what He has done for each of us. The thought of the cross can challenge us to surrender to Him daily, to make the conscious decision to walk in the new life that He has released in our hearts by virtue of our acceptance of Him as our Savior.
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In Matthew 16, we see that Jesus taught His disciples about the value of surrender and sacrifice, and He used the image of the method by which He would give His own life:
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
On an earlier edition of my week-in-review feature, I had reported to you about a Chinese attorney who was one of more than 250 people detained or arrested in China in connection with the 400 to 1,200 cross removals in the eastern province of Zhejiang, a Christian stronghold. I referred to a Christianity Today story that identifies a Chinese attorney who was imprisoned, Zhang Kai, as the leader of “Lawyers for Protection of the Cross," a group that defends churches whose crosses have been forcibly removed amid a government campaign to strip skylines of Christian symbols.
I also referred to a report on the Voice of America website, which said that the U.S. has called for the release of Zhang Kai and a group of religious figures, including Christian pastors, accused of threatening public order and national security. The U.S. ambassador-at-large for religious freedom, David Saperstein, said the August 25 detentions of religious figures, including Zhang, were a “particularly alarming development.” It came as he prepared to meet them the next day in China.
In Wenzhou, the cross removals have prompted a counter action to try to restore crosses to some churches, according to China Aid. Wenzhou police detained 2 deacons of churches during the Labor Day weekend. Police have provided no information about one of them, while another was sentenced to five days in administrative detention.
On Sunday, September 6, the Shangzhou Church in Wenzhou re-erected their church’s cross, and authorities subsequently cut off the church’s power. Church members then brought their own generator-powered lighting. The church members were later approached by the local Communist Party branch secretary and told to take the cross back down.
After the church re-erected the cross, deacon Huang Xiaoyuan was taken into custody around 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening because police suspected him of “gathering a crowd to disturb public order.” As of last week his circumstances were unknown, but his family expressed concern for his health as he has a chronic gastrointestinal disease.
On Monday morning, authorities arrested Zhang Zhi in his home after Xianqiao Church re-erected their cross. His wife said that five or six plainclothes officers forced their way inside their home and carried Zhang away. She believes her husband was taken after a disagreement with police a few days earlier, in which authorities pressured church members to remove the cross again.
Yesterday, China Aid reported that there have now been a total of 5 re-erected crosses that have been destroyed. Meanwhile, the afore-mentioned Zhang Kai has been prohibited from meeting with his lawyer.
In China, believers are so intent on displaying crosses that they are risking harassment and even arrest. The government's actions are an affront to people who take their Christian faith seriously. The display of a cross is important to them, because it is a reminder of the cross on which our Savior died.
So, the question for each of us is: has the cross made a difference for us? How has the death of Jesus on a cross transformed my life? And, what significance does the cross have for my life today?
In the movie, Do You Believe?, which is now out on DVD, the characters, to one degree or the other are confronted with the cross and how it might change their lives. I think we do well to consider how our lives can change when we recognize what living the crucified life really means.
Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow Him - Jesus knew what sort of death He would experience, and taught His disciples using His method of execution. We are called to sacrifice all for Him - to lay down our lives, to surrender - to die with Him so that we might live with Him.
Paul stated that he had been crucified with Christ, but nevertheless He was alive - alive through presence of Christ. That's our story, too - Jesus was our substitute on the cross, and by identifying with Him in His death and resurrection, we can experience His new life! So, the cross represents what Jesus has done for us - that is why it is so emotional when government officials - in China, as well as the U.S., attempt to remove this symbol from public life. For it is the cross that reminds us of the presence of a Savior, who brings hope to the world.
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