The Holy Plus Sign
Mark 8:31-38
Illustration
by Billy D. Strayhorn

A little boy who was just learning about addition and subtraction in school looked up during Worship one Sunday, saw the cross sitting on the altar and hollered, "Look, Daddy! There's a plus sign in our Church."

The cross really is a plus sign in our Church. It's a plus sign in our lives daily. It tells us of the advantages of being a Christian and accepting the forgiveness God offers through the cross. Through the cross God did what only God can do. God transformed a horrible instrument of torture and death into a symbol of life and hope. God transformed tragedy into triumph; humiliation into glory; despair into hope. God took what was ugly and cruel and violent and transformed it into a thing of beauty and a symbol of peace.

Cross Road: Taking It Up, by Billy D. Strayhorn