The Significance Of The Cross Essays - Christology,

The Significance of the Cross The significance of the cross has changed over the years. In the beginning before Christ gave himself up for our sins the cross was viewed as a sign of pain and suffrage. The Romans used to execute criminals and enemies of the state on them. The were hung along the road showing the sarrows of people. It was the most shameful way to die. The pain and anguish it caused was unbearable and feared by all. Except Roman citizens. The pain and shame of death on the cross was so bad that the Romans would not inflict it on their citizens. In their society it was like the electric chair is today. Except for the fact that we inflict that pain on any human being. The Romans new of the pain that it caused human beings but yet they still inflicted it on people. The cross was a sign of the cruelty of the Roman Empire. It showed what they believed in as a society. Roman was not a society of pity, forgives, or any other act of caring towards human beings that were not Romans. The cross showed their society as that of almost barbaric tribes. The cross and the gladiatorial coliseums were the same thing, ways to punish and kill their enemies. The Romans used this way of execution for Christ. They put him up onto the cross and changed its whole meaning for millions of people. With that one act the cross lost most of its spur to someone's dignity for a Christian. Because of that act the cross has become a sign of salvation. The followers of Christ see the cross as their redemption and their only way of entering the Kingdom of God, Heaven. The cross is a symbol that people use to remind themselves that there is a reason to go on. The cross means they can now enter heaven because Jesus died for them one of the most brutal ways ever. The cross now is a reason for people to live the life that Christ lived. It gives them hope and joy every time they look at. The cross is still a sign of pain to people, but that pain is greatly overshadowed by the love for them that is shown on it. Everyone who looks upon the cross cannot help but feel the pain Jesus went through for their souls to have the ability to be joined with him in Gods greatest gift to man, Heaven. The anguish inflicted on the cross does not equal what the act gives to everyone who tries to live his life as best he can. The cross was once a sign of the ultimate shame. It was pain in its purest form, but now that great pain has been overshadow by the sacrifice born of love. The ultimate show of love has made the cross what I believe it is today, the only sign that shows the ability of salvation and a life in heaven.