Throughout the past few years, Katherine and I have been blessed with the opportunity to experience sixteen different countries, not counting the countries that await us on the horizon. Like all other travelers, we like to collect something unique to each specific country we are visiting.
Some people collect postcards, stamps, and refrigerator magnets, while others collect keychains, coffee mugs, or bracelets. Unlike most other common souvenirs and trinkets, we have chosen to collect one particular thing from each country we pass through: a cross.
As Christians, the cross is such an important symbol. It serves as a reminder to us each day of the love that God has shown us. In his book, Desiring God, John Piper puts it this way:
“Life is wasted if we do not grasp the glory of the cross, cherish it for the treasure that it is, and cleave to it as the highest price of every pleasure and the deepest comfort in every pain. What was once foolishness to us—a crucified God—must become our wisdom and our power and our only boast in this world.”
“[Jesus] personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26)
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)
I get it. Not everyone in this world is a Christian. So many people around the world see the Cross (and the message of the Gospel) as utter foolishness. Most people (including myself at one point in my life) aren’t willing to admit that they are sinful, and in desperate need for the love and acceptance that only God can give them. We like to pretend that we have it all together—like we have all the answers. And we don’t. None of us do. We are all longing for something more out of this life. Something that exists beyond ourself. At some point in every person’s life, we all feel the weight and shame of our selfish decisions, our mistakes and regrets, and we long to be forgiven and accepted.
The problem is that we turn to anything and everything BUT the cross for that love, forgiveness, and acceptance. We long to be made right, and the only thing that can make us right [the message of the cross] we see as foolishness. To the majority of this world, the cross is nothing but foolishness.
However, to me—it’s the most powerful display of love I could ever imagine. Even though we are all sinners, Christ died for us. While I have absolutely nothing to offer God, He still chose to love me, to redeem me, and to take away all of the punishment I deserve [placing it on Jesus instead]. That’s what makes the cross so beautiful. That’s what makes the cross such a foundational aspect of my entire pursuit in life.
“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” -C.T. Studd
With over 95% of Nepal being Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim, it was a little difficult for Katherine and I to find our cross in this country. Actually, we didn’t really find one. A couple of days ago, we were walking through the streets here in Kathmandu and stumbled upon a wood shop filled with figurines of various Hindu gods and multiple sculptures of Buddha. I figured it was a long shot in the dark, but I went inside to ask if they could make us a wooden cross. To our surprise, they were more than happy to fashion a cross for us. The shopkeeper was in the process of moving their store to a new location, so he told us to return in a few days to get the cross.
After a couple of days, Katherine and I returned to meet the man (this time at the new location of the store). As we entered the store, he was just finishing up the polish on the cross. He was so excited to be working on this project (probably due to the nature that this wasn’t a typical job for him), and he told us about the other rare occasions where he had sculpted scenes of the Last Supper and the Christmas Nativity. Katherine and I took this opportunity to explain to him that we collect crosses from around the world, talking to him about the importance of the cross and who Jesus is.
Once the work was done, he handed us the cross, shook my hand, and thanked us for being the first official customers in his new store! We took a photo together (that I still need to email him), that way he can hang it on the wall in his new store. My hope and prayer is that he always remembers his first customers, and that the Cross of Christ will one day be just as important to him as it is to me and Katherine.
Everything BUT foolishness.
For those of you who are interested in our team’s “Legacy Journey” here in Nepal (the 10-day trek we did to the remote Tsum Valley region of Nepal) please know that we are working on a 3-part video series that will highlight the journey. The videos will be posted soon on the YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss them!
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