The cross - front and center

Our verses for this week are the final two verses of the chapter:

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (I Peter 2:24-25)

There is so much packed in here! I was at a loss as to how to get to all of it.... Peter is continuing to talk about the suffering of our Savior.
These verses are sandwiched between two similar passages: in both of them, Peter tells people how to react when they are treated unjustly. The first passage is addressed to slaves who may be treated unjustly by their masters; the second passage is addressed to wives who may be treated unjustly by their husbands. In this context, Jesus is our supreme example of One Who endured suffering and injustice.
I'm indebted to a short study by Tracie Wallace, where I found this illustration:

Meet my Cambodian friend, Lydia. (Not her real name) The youngest of eight children, she was born two years before the Khmer Rouge came to power. During their reign of destruction and killing, five of her siblings died of starvation. Lydia survived as her mother slipped her extra food portions. Her parents and all her older-generation relatives were murdered before she was five. After the death of her parents, Lydia was ‘adopted’ by Khmer Rouge foster parents, a practice of the regime employed to re-educate the youngest children. She quickly learned to hide in the forest in the day time and live in the homes of the deceased at night. At age 22, Lydia became a Christian through a missionary family who came to serve God in her village. Because she spoke English, the missionaries soon asked for her help with translation materials, and provided Lydia with a foundational understanding of her faith. During her final year of seminary education in Singapore, Lydia turned down opportunities for better paying jobs and determined to return to Cambodia. She now serves God in a Christian ministry organization in her home country, convinced her fellow Cambodians are in great need of the hope she found through the gospel in the midst of her suffering. Though I cannot begin to fathom the traumas of her childhood, Lydia exudes a contagious joy and confidence in Christ. How does she do it? How has she learned to draw strength from Christ’s sufferings? How can the injustices Christ faced in His lifetime and on the cross make a difference in our daily struggles?

I believe that this Cambodian girl has discovered what Peter is trying to tell us....we need to keep the cross of Christ "front and center." To keep it focused and important in our daily lives.

You might look at me and say, "Snoodles, I just don't think that this discussion is relevant to me. Maybe the theologians can discuss it. But how is this going to be practical in my life? How can it help me work out the problems in my marriage? Or help me raise the kids? Or pay the bills?"

But there is truly no more practical subject in our Bibles! The cross of Christ is central to our faith: it reveals the character of our Father God. It shows us His love for lost sinners, and that love meets justice at the cross. If we want to grow in our love for Him, then we must be growing and maturing, understanding the cross. The cross confronts the most prevalent of sins: pride. We'll get to that in a moment.....
The cross of Jesus is the place where all the wounds of sin are healed. If we suffer from emotional problems -- depression, anxiety, guilt, anger (at ourselves or at someone who's harmed us) -- there is healing in the cross. If we are suffering or experiencing tragedy, there is no greater comfort for a believer than to think of the love of a spotless Savior Who was willing to die for us.
Peter wrote these words to slaves who were suffering unjustly under cruel masters. The words he used about the wounds of Christ would have spoken volumes to their hearts, because they referred to the welts produced by whipping -- some of these slaves would know first-hand about that pain and suffering. He knew that meditating on the cross would fill their hearts with gratitude, as they thought about One Who bore so much on their behalf.

Keeping the cross front and center in our lives will protect us from the many false doctrines that are circling about in our world today.  We must remember that Satan hates the cross! The cross of Christ sealed his doom, so he is relentless in his efforts to undermine it. He'd love, love, love to see it brushed aside. Every false teaching in some way diminishes the work of Christ on the cross -- many times it diminishes it by magnifying human ability. Satan especially is working to erode the concept of sin.
How many times have you heard lately, a preacher who unequivocally talks about sin and its penalty? Many of today's church leaders like to spend their time talking about the love of Jesus. The friendship, and the comfort of our Savior. All of their preaching is very attractive to people who would prefer not to be reminded of their shortcomings, their sins.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (II Timothy 4:3-4)

And Satan loves to pump people up, too, and make them prideful. (See, I told you we'd come back to this.) If he can convince people that they are not as bad as that "mean ole, terrible, hateful preacher" says they are.... if he can persuade them they don't really feel guilt. They aren't really sinners. They don't deserve God's wrath.
Ahhh, then they don't need a crucified Savior, do they?  Ka-ching! Satan just won a battle.
If Satan can convince believers that they don't need to repent daily, and be cleansed from sin, then they don't need to keep working at their study and prayer. Ka-ching! There's another win for Satan.

Keeping the cross "front and center" is what we will focus on this week.....