A Song for Sunday: "The Wonderful Cross"

The cross is a picture of suffering. It's where Jesus was hung to die. And yet it's a beautiful picture. It is gory, bloody, and full of strife. But it's wonderful. It's wonderful, because that cross was meant for you and me. It was supposed to be our punishment. But Christ took it on Himself instead. 

The cross is a reminder to all of us that we deserve death and separation from God, but Christ took our place and sacrificed Himself so we wouldn't have to be in that position. Readers, that is something far more beautiful than we could ever find on earth. It's a picture of unconditional love. This unconditional love is shown in the Chris Tomlin song "The Wonderful Cross".

Chris Tomlin's song is actually a rendition of the hymn "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." I love it when artists take the timeless treasures in the hymns and rewrite them for a new generation. The words still ring true, no matter what way they are sung.

The lyrics for "The Wonderful Cross" is as follows:

 "When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

See from his head, his hands, his feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live
O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
All who gather here by grace draw near and bless
Your name

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all."

May we all embrace the wonderful cross, die to our sinful nature, and rise up in newness of life to walk in the Spirit.