"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18 According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, this is the definition of the word, miracle: "an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs." I spent over twenty years in the advertising business, in the creative and marketing areas, so I know a little about branding, iconic symbols, the power of logo recognition and subliminal messaging. In my humble opinion there is nothing that can compete with the cross when it comes to all of those things. The messages it sends out every day, likely hundreds of millions, if not billions of times, is a remarkable hallmark of Christianity. Certainly, the cross meets the definition of "divine intervention in human affairs." The cross, its representation of the event that lead to its status as an icon of the faith, symbolizes an extraordinary event that continues to intervene in our lives on a daily basis. So, I look at the cross as an ongoing, every day miracle first performed by Christ over two thousand years ago that continues to inspire, lead, impact and influence our lives. Here's how. Although I am reasonably knowledgeable about my faith, the bible, Christian history and scripture, I see Christianity as it impacts our world today and do not often look back at how it impacted our world two thousand years ago or over the centuries that followed. I believe that Christ is more involved in our lives now than he has ever been and that his role in human affairs is continuously increasing. Proof of this is all around us. The fact that Christ’s ongoing interaction with our planet is proof of his spiritual resurrection, his presence in our world right now; evidence of his superior and inimitable divinity. The cross is, well, Christ’s logo and it is a sign of his presence among us. Here is something to think about. The cross is the most recognized symbol in history. No other symbol, religious or otherwise, can compete with the instant recognition of the cross. I don't care if you are an atheist, a Buddhist a Muslim a Hindu or a believer or nonbeliever of any other form of religion or worship, you can identify the cross and be knowledgeable of its origin and of its meaning more readily than exposure to any other symbol on the planet and that includes the Nike swoosh and the golden arches. It’s just a cross, you may say. No. It is a constant reminder of the goodness of Christianity; a constant reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice and what it means to the world. What does the cross mean? The cross represents things like peace, sacrifice, charity, hope, love, acceptance, worship, sanctuary, a safe place to run to, brotherhood, community, God, and the list goes on. We may not realize it each time we see a cross but as they say in marketing these images evoke deep conceptual, subliminal meanings at a subconscious level. They trigger a response in our subconscious mind and that finds its way into our conscious daily lives without us even knowing. And the cross is everywhere. On churches, in windows, around necks, on rings, tattoos, painted on store windows, in graffiti, on books, on buildings, in artwork - even the Red Cross logo projects the image of the cross, obviously, and it speaks of hope, disaster rescue and medical assistance, relief, charity, security, love, peace, acceptance – and that list goes on, too. All are Christian concepts. Christians are the most persecuted people on the planet today. In the nations committing such atrocities, one of the first acts of oppression against the faith is to remove Christian icons from their culture and that means outlawing the cross and destroying any physical presence of the symbol of the Christian God. They do this because the cross has a power over humanity that they cannot compete with and by removing it they hope to silence its great voice. I call the cross one of the great miracles of Christ. And whether we are aware of it or not, it impacts our lives each and every day and brings us joy we probably don’t appreciate nearly enough. The cross is definitely an extraordinary manifestation of divine intervention in human affairs. Or, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the cross meets the criteria of a miracle. Comments are closed.
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(For a complete archive listing click here: "ARCHIVES" or access them under the Blog link above) Bonepicking With Jesus Are New Testament Miracles Still Performed Today? The Eternal Love Buffet Of The Godly Heart DOG GOD DOGMA God's Sunday Morning Blah Blah Blah Blues Cafe Happiness In The Human Head's Solar System The Whale Of Armageddon And Our War Scorched Sky Alternate Earth And Plundering In The Name Of The Lord Ghosts of Bible Thumpers and a No Knocking God The Supreme Builder of Extremes 5 Types Of Prayer Kumbaya Muslims For Christ Christian Lives Matter Even Cavemen Had Hope Discipleship: The Paradigms Of Purpose Thoughts Of Veganism And God God's Only Perfect Flaw Of The Human Design Christian Persecution 2017 Second Thoughts The Miracle Of Forgiveness Wild Thoughts About Wild Things And Light And God My Welcome Blog For earlier posts click here: ARCHIVES
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