Cross thoughts: Christian ideas seen in Sudanese every day life.
Shoes get dirty as we walk around every day. The dust and the sticky rubbish or mud cling on to our shoes. Because we walk our streets, we need our shoes cleaned regularly.
Our lives also get “dirty” as we live in the everyday world.
We rub shoulders with other people at work and we keep on hearing some of their bad language. We sometimes use it ourselves, although we know we shouldn’t.
Some of our friends have an illegal drink of morrissa. We are offered some when we are at a celebration with them. We drink it. We break the law of Sudan, when we know God tells us to honour those in authority.
The pressure for sex outside of marriage is intense. We feel we cannot wait with the one we love. It seems just right and so natural. We sin, and our lives gradually become more and more dirty.
You can probably think of many other ways your life is contaminated – made less than pure – by things you have done. I certainly can in my life: not only actions, but inside thoughts and bad attitudes as well.
The cross of Jesus is not for clean people! Meeting Jesus at His cross is meeting the only One who can properly clean up a dirty sinner. The cross is the place to visit when you come to understand just how dirty you are – and that you cannot wash it all away by yourself. Washing your body does not get the muck from your soul!
A shoe-shine boy can help you by cleaning your dirty shoes.
Only the Saviour Jesus can help you with a messed up life.
“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”. “He has appeared once for all to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself”, Hebrews 9:22,26.
April 2008.