OPINION —
Some of my earliest memories are tied to traveling with my family. We were on the road a lot, usually heading somewhere to visit relatives, and on one particular trip, we were traveling from Arkansas to Florida. Somewhere south of Atlanta, we stopped at what was then a large outlet store to do some shopping.
I was only about 7 years old, and even though we had been there before, it was still easy for a kid to get turned around in a place that big. I remember wanting to go look at some toys, and at some point, I got separated from my brother and sister. Before long, I realized I had also lost sight of my parents.
At that age, the size of the store didn’t matter nearly as much as the fact I couldn’t see my mom or dad. I didn’t care about the toys anymore. I didn’t care about what else was in the store. All I wanted was to get close to them again because, in my mind, being near them meant I was safe.
As I looked through the crowd, I finally caught a glimpse of someone I was sure was my mom. I ran straight toward her, reached up and grabbed her hand. For just a moment, everything felt right again. Then I looked up.
It wasn’t my mom.
I can still remember the panic of that moment. I let go of her hand and immediately began to cry. Thankfully, she knelt down, reassured me and told me she would help me find my parents. She walked with me to the customer service desk, stayed while they made an announcement and remained there until my parents came to get me.
I was finally back where I wanted to be. I was close to the people I knew, the people I trusted, the people who made me feel safe.
I thought about that story recently while reflecting on the idea of being near the cross.
There’s something about the cross that draws everything back into focus. We spend so much time searching for security, peace, forgiveness, identity and hope in all kinds of places. We convince ourselves that if we can just get the right job, fix the right relationship, make enough money, gain enough approval or somehow get life under control, then everything will finally feel right.
But eventually, life has a way of reminding us how easy it is to get lost.
We get lost in guilt. We get lost in grief. We get lost in disappointment, anger, fear and regret. Sometimes, we get lost in success and self-confidence too. We start wandering farther from the One who gave us life, and somewhere along the way, we realize what we really need isn’t another distraction or another answer from the world.
We need to get back near Christ.
The cross is where we see grace in its clearest form. It’s where mercy meets justice. It’s where sin is confronted, but the sinner is loved. It’s where forgiveness becomes more than an idea and where peace becomes possible because Jesus took upon Himself what belonged to us.
Paul wrote in Colossians 1:20 that Christ made peace “through the blood of His cross.” Peter reminds us Jesus “bore our sins in His own body on the tree.” At the cross, we aren’t told that sin doesn’t matter. We’re shown exactly how much it matters, and at the same time, we’re shown just how far God was willing to go to save us from it.
That’s why there’s safety near the cross.
Not because life suddenly becomes easy. Not because we stop hurting or never struggle again. But because near the cross, we remember who we belong to. We remember our sin has an answer, our guilt has a remedy and our hope has a name.
There are times in life when we may feel like that seven-year-old kid in a crowded store. We look around and everything feels unfamiliar. We reach for things we think will make us feel secure, only to discover they aren’t what we thought they were.
But the invitation of Jesus is still the same. Come near. Come back. Stay close.
Near the cross is where we find grace. It’s where we find mercy. It’s where we find forgiveness, peace and the reminder that we don’t have to wander through this life alone. And ultimately, near the cross is where we find Christ.
When everything around you feels uncertain, don’t run farther into the crowd. Run back to where you know you’re safe.
