"The Cross is Like a Battle Won"

Many, many years ago, in the time when horses, wagons and walking were the major forms of transportation, an old man was carrying a very heavy load on his back. The poor, old man was bent over under the weight. His face was beat red from over-exertion. His eyes looked strained and tired. Every step he took was nothing less than a battle.

As the old man walked on under his burden, a father and his young boy came down the dirt road riding their horse and wagon. The father and his boy laughed and talked together as they let the horse pull the weight of their load. Suddenly, they saw the outline of the man and his load in the distance. As they drew closer they noticed the man's age and how each step was a struggle under the burden he bore.

The father pulled up next to the man, stopped the wagon and invited the old man to ride with them. The man gratefully accepted, but chose to ride in the back of the wagon. The father then urged his horse forward and the three of them continued on their journey.

It was the boy who made the observation: "Daddy," the boy said, "Why is he keeping the load on his back? Why doesn't he sit the load down in the wagon?"

The father looked over his shoulder and saw that his boy was right. The old man had accepted the ride, but not the opportunity to be relieved of his burden.

The cross is like a battle won. Christ's death and resurrection, as we read in Colossians 2 on Sunday, has already won the war. It seems that many of us are able to trust Christ to give us a ride to heaven, but few of us are willing to trust Christ to carry the daily burdens and battles that are put on our backs before we get to heaven. The FATHER sees the burdens we keep carrying and the battles we keep fighting as his SON asks, "Why?"