The Cross

I have heard it preached many times by many great preachers.  I have been encouraged, uplifted, and intrigued!  The problem: that is not what it means.  The scripture from our reading today (www.lifejournal.cc) that spoke volumes to me is John 12:32- And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.  How many times have you heard this passage or some preacher's version of it spewed out and followed by "let's just lift Him up with our praise and adoration and let Him draw them."  Amen, Brother............. That is... just... not... what it says. 
The verb that is used for lifted here is the same one that is used in John 3:14 when Christ said- And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.  The lifting is a term that speaks of physically lifting, not lifting Him in worship.  I like to put these two thoughts together and say- As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up and Christ said when I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself.   That is how we ought to understand it. 
Now why is it important to get the lifting right here?  Because the praise doesn't draw the people, the cross does.  When the praise amplifies, glorifies, and emphasizes the Cross, that is where the drawing comes in.  Don't think it is you or anything you do that does the drawing or the saving.  It is the cross.  It is all about the cross!
And it is that cross that we must proclaim.  We must lean on it.  We must trust in it.  It is that cross that we can rest in.  I pray that you are resting in it so well today that you cannot help but share it. 
And have  a good one doing it!