Former Blackout Artist

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. – Galatians 6:14

It’s hard for us to realize how strange Paul’s words must have sounded back then. To the people who saw crucifixions, the words cross and glory just didn’t belong together. Crucifixion was about shame, pain, and humiliation. It was the last thing anyone would ever boast about. But Paul flips it upside down. He says the only thing worth boasting about is the cross.

Most people are proud of their achievements. They’re proud of their wealth. They’re proud of their position and their reputation. That’s what makes sense to us – glory in the things you can see. But Paul wasn’t interested in any of that. He didn’t care about fame, riches, or status. He only cared about Jesus and what He did for us on the cross.

The truth is, nothing is more worldly than trying to make a good impression in the flesh. When we live for what others think of us, or for what we can gain here on earth, we’re tied to the world. But the cross changes all that. Paul says the world has been crucified to him, and he to the world. In other words, he’s dead to the world’s values, and he’s alive in Christ.

So here’s the question for us: What are we boasting in? Is our life about what we can accomplish, what people think of us, what we can gain? Or is it about Christ and His cross? At the end of the day, the only thing that matters, the only thing worth glorying in, is Jesus and His finished work for us.

“The crown of our rejoicing is not what we have done, but what Christ has done for us.” – Charles H. Spurgeon