Remembering that the Ground is Level at the Cross
Humble beginnings and level ground.
Where we started – and from where we have come. It matters not at all. What matters is that we remember from where we have come, and that the ground is level at the cross.
The place from which we have come influences the places we have been. We should never forget, for the ground is level at the cross.
In our spiritual journey, each one of us was born a sinner. If we met Jesus at the cross, each one of us found the ground to be level there. There is no favored spot, no special garment that elevates us above another person, for the ground is level at the cross.
Our social or financial status may vary from that of our neighbor, but the fact remains that in the eyes of our Heavenly Father, we are on equal footing. The ground is level at the cross.
The gates of Heaven are opened, not by blessings claimed, talents possessed, mountains conquered, rivers crossed, or obstacles overcome. The ground is level at the cross.
The disciples on level ground
For the disciples standing at the foot of the cross that awful Friday, their status and occupation mattered not at all. What mattered was their relationship with the Master Who hung there on the cross.
I think about those disciples during this Passion week. The disciples spent three years with Jesus – learning by watching His responses to the throngs of sick and empty people. Some of them volleyed for favoritism; all of them deserted Him for His trial. Now here they were, at the Cross. The ground was level there.
Their careers, their successes, their friends, their families – none of them mattered now. Standing at the foot of the Crucified, they realized the ground was level at the cross.
Our beginning and our ending
Our beginning matters little compared to our end. The ministry of Jesus culminated at the cross and the empty tomb. His ministry continues in us.
It’s not what we’ve done, where we’ve been, or what we’ve conquered that matters. Our successes carry no weight or gold; what we’ve conquered means nothing at all, for at the Cross, the ground is level. Believing this and living this will change the way we act and the way we live. It will change the things we say and the things we do.
It’s a completely different way of life, when we recognize that for every one of us, the ground is level at the cross.
