The Painful, Effective Cross

Key Passage: Philippians 3:10

Devotional:

The cross is not just a moment of salvation—it is a daily experience. Not only does Jesus command His followers to “take up your cross daily,” but also Paul embraces this crucified life saying, “...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death” (Philippians 3:10).

Sadly, many people try to claim the cross in vain. They will say they are “Christians,” but what they mean is nothing more than that they have adopted a moralistic ethic and occasionally go to church. When they do go, it is often out of duty and not out of a place of delight. There is no true change or transformation. A.W. Tozer reflects on this by saying, “The cross is painful, but it is effective.” To truly pick up our cross daily, no matter how painful it is, a part of us will die, and we will be fully dependent on Christ for life.

Though the gospel does not end in death, there is no resurrection without the cross, no sanctification without suffering, and no victory without surrender. John MacArthur reminds us, “True Christians are transformed people. They manifest righteousness and are commanded to continually manifest more of that righteousness.” The cross is like a surgeon’s scalpel—it cuts, but it heals. It exposes the sin within us, but it also removes it.

Suffering with Christ means more than enduring hardship—it means embracing the refining process. It is trusting that even when God allows trials, He is shaping us into the image of His Son.

Let this be a prayer for us today:

“I claim the cross

I’ll suffer with the Christ that I adore

To crucify the life I lived before

I claim the cross

I claim the grave

put to death my flesh and all its ways

Its bondage broken full in Heaven’s gaze

I claim the grave

I claim the cross

My whole heart seeks the Savior’s steps

In suffering I will join the Savior’s rest

I claim the cross

I claim new life

Death defeated in His sacrifice

His life is given up as mine

I claim new life”

Application Question: How is God using suffering to refine and sanctify you?

Further Reading: Romans 5:3-5; Philippians 3:10; Hebrews 12:10-11

Written by Jordan West