There are those in our Christian circles that know only of condemnation.

 

When a brother or sister sins, these are the first to accuse, the first to throw the stone.  They delight in condemnation.  They seek failure.  They relish the moment of failure of another believer.  They see only judgment, and they bring judgment against another with ferocious vengeance.  They crush broken hearts.  They tear open wounds.  They shatter homes and churches.  And in it all, they carry about the arrogance of a modern day Pharisee that sends up a foul stench before the Throne of God.  They carry around their little notebook, taking notes to use are your trial and execution.  They are ruthless.  They are vindictive.  They lurk in the shadows.  They are devisive, callous, vengefull, and carnal.  They do the work of the god of this age, mimicking his accusations of the brethren.

 

They are enemies of the Cross!

 

How shall we survive their withering stare, their glaring snarl?  How shall we overcome the condemnation they heap upon us?

 

It is the Cross!  The Cross has freed us!  “Blest cross!  Blest Sepulchre!  Blest rather be the Man that there was put to shame for me!” (John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress)  In Christ there is no longer condemnation, for Christ Jesus has set us free!  There for all time at the Cross Road of life stands the Tree as a witness to the freedom of Grace.  There at that Cross Road we find our wondrous salvation.  In the horror and shame of the Cross we find glory and victory.  In the death on the Cross we find life.  In living under the Cross we find we must die.  The Cross is our witness of the Sacrifice required to free us from God’s awesome, consuming wrath.  The Cross is our witness that demands a life of sacrifice.

 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me . . .”Galatians 2:20  

At the Cross Road of life, the Cross demands a decision.  At the crossroad of Cetas and Palmer Road in Harbor Springs, Michigan, the Witness Tree demands a decision; for it stands in the middle, and one must go either left or right.  The Cross stands at the center of our lives.  It is there that we must decide – either to remain the enemy of God or to be the captive of the Savior.  Those who are the enemy of the Cross know only condemnation.  Those who are It’s captive know freedom from condemnation.

 

It should not be among Christians that one condemns another who has fallen into sin, for each one stands in the shadow of that Sacred Witness Tree.  Each one’s sin held the Savior to that rugged Tree.  Each one’s hands drove the nails into those sinless hands and beautiful feet.  Your sin put Christ on the Cross.  My sin put Christ on the Cross.  He died in your place to free you from God’s great wrath.  He died in my place to free me from the condemnation of sin.  How can we do any less to a brother or sister in Christ?

 

As for me, I will glory in the Cross of Christ my Savior who freed me from the condemnation of sin!

 

At the Witness Tree:

 

Will you come to the Cross and find freedom from condemnation?

 

Will you condemn those who are weaker or have fallen?

 

Or,

 

Will you show the same Grace which has been shown you?

  Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.Romans 8:1  

mrc