In his book The Cross Centered Life, C. J. Mahaney sees the Cross as the heart of the gospel, and the gospel as the heart of everything else: “If there’s anything in life we should be passionate about, it’s the gospel. And I don’t mean passionate only about sharing it with others; I mean passionate in thinking about the gospel, reflecting upon it, rejoicing in it, allowing it to color the way we look at the world and all of life.”
The Cross is a mirror showing us the heart-stopping magnitude of our depravity and offers a terrible glimpse of Hell’s misery. It is a lens showing us God’s uncompromising holiness and wrath that demand such a price for sin. And it’s a magnifying glass showing us the sweeping vastness of God’s grace and love, that he would be willing to pay a price he knew would be so horrific.
Everything before the Cross points forward to it. Everything since the Cross points back to it. Everything that will last was purchased on it. Everything that matters hinges on it.
