One of my favorite parts of being a pastor is having the time to pull on the threads of the Bible. Every few days, I open a website that allows me to type in a Bible word—like grace or faith or kingdom—and see precisely how many times it shows up, which books of the Bible use it the most, and how often Jesus himself quoted that word. Recently, I did the same with the word cross.

Ready for a lot of good news? According to some of the 33 appearances of cross, “‘he himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24). “[He] canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). “[God made] peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:20). “To us who are being saved [the message of the cross] is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Through the cross, we have peace, healing, forgiveness, sins taken away, no condemnation, more peace, salvation, and power. That’s what’s loaded in the cross! 

Take a moment to meditate on the passages above. Perhaps pick just one and let its truth soak down into your soul. Because there are many powerful words in the Scriptures, but few are as inspiring to our souls as the cross.