Epic Win.

I pondered the question long and hard, searching for the answer. What does the cross mean to me? What does it symbolize? The discussion had already moved on by the time I reached a word that satisfied me: Victory.

While on that cross, Jesus seemed a picture of defeat, cloaked in suffering and shame. His disciples believed Him to be defeated and scattered. The crowd believed Him to be defeated and mocked him. The demons believed Him to be defeated and erupted into cackles and grins.

And I think many times, when we imagine the cross, that is what we see. The Lamb being led to the slaughter. The pain and suffering and darkness. The shame, the despair.

But though these are essential aspects of the cross, and it is absolutely vital that we (do our best to) grasp the price that Jesus paid that day, it is not the end of the story.

Newsflash: He's not on that cross anymore. The cross is empty; He conquered it, along with death and the grave, swallowing up the darkness in victory. He brought back the keys of Hell and handed them to us, saying, Go. I have given all authority to you. Open blinded eyes. Raise the dead. Set the prisoners free. 

I have heard it said we often think in terms of either/or when God says both. The cross was shame and victory, suffering and glory. Don't stop at one and forget the other. Jesus may have died like a criminal, but His life was not taken from Him; He gave it freely. And though we have our own crosses to bear, our burden is light--for He already bore it. We are more than conquerors, for we won long before we ever stepped onto the battlefield. No attacks that rise against us can quench the new life we've been given. We live in resurrection power. And the joy set before us from that knowledge gives us more than enough strength to endure.