THE TWO SIDES OF THE CROSS- The Smooth Side of the Cross

  “And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.                                                           Verily, verily, I say unto you,

For us to understand the smooth side of the cross let’s examine the narrative in John 12:23 -30 (KJV) “And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? 

Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.”

From the narrative in John 12 Jesus made reference to the reward that awaits him as he seeks to pay the price. 

These rewards define the smooth side of the cross; he puts these rewards into four major categories namely: (a) Glory - John 12:23(KJV) “And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.”,(b)  Fruitfulness – John12:24 (KJV) “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” (c) Eternal Life - John 12:25(KJV) “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”  

And (d) Honor – John 12:26 (KJV) “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” These features will be the occurrences of our lives if we are truly embracing the smooth side of the cross. Going forward with this narrative, I want us to have a deeper look at the four features that we just mentioned.

a)      Glory – The word glory means fame, recognition and admiration that is given someone who does something important, it also means the aura that inspires a feeling of wonder or Joy. This is the period when our lives becomes useful in the hands of God and society begins to take notice and give us the place that we deserve. The case of Joseph in Genesis chapter 40 and 41 is an immediate example that comes to mind. The account in these chapters of the Genesis talks about how Joseph, the beloved son of Jacob was framed and put into a prison and yet Joseph kept a godly attitude during this rough side of his life; 

     through the relationship that he had with God almighty he was able to interpret the dreams of some of the kings officials who were in prison with him. Through this interpretation he was recommended to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, which he did with the help of God. This feat led to his recognition by Pharaoh the king of Egypt and his subsequent promotion to a Prime Minister in Egypt according to   Gen 41:39 – 44(KJV)  “ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: 

     Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, 

     I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams led to his promotion from the prison to the place of a prime minister; God glorified himself through Joseph’s life. It is in this period that God will glorify himself in our lives

b)      Fruitfulness – is one of the major signs that confirms that you are experiencing the smooth side of the cross. The charge God gave Adam in the garden of Eden according to Genesis 1:28 (KJV)  “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." It is in this period that you begin to reproduce after your kind; 

      this is when you are impacting godly values in other people just as Paul told Timothy in 2^nd Timothy 2:2 (KJV) “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” This is when one is raising people (laborers) for God’s kingdom and it is in this fruitfulness that we can multiply and subdue the earth so as to bring Glory to God. But the caution here is that, it is not just about the numbers, but also about the quality of the numbers, 

     Jesus said in John 15:16 (KJV) “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”  It is better to have a crowd of 50 people who are growing in godliness and in their relationship with God, than a crowd of 500 ungodly people who do not have any relationship with God.

c)      Eternal Life – The greatest reward in embracing the cross and what it represents is the fact that “You have eternal life” Act_13:48 (KJV) ”And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.”  And 1 John_2:25 (KJV) “And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.” The assurance from the scripture that we who believe in Christ and the work he did on the cross, is enough to sooth the wounds that we pick in this injurious world. 

     This assurance of eternal life is a precursor to a better life after we depart from this material world; it makes us have peace on every side in the midst of hardship and supposed difficulties. This is because we know that the challenges are only but for a moment as captured by 2 Corinthians 4:16 -18(KJV) “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 

     An assurance and reward after this material world is enough for me be hopeful about this life and the one to come. The world is searching for non-existence peace in peace talks, money, education, great careers, material possession, fame, influence etc, yet we who believe in Him and the work he accomplished on the cross have it in abundance as opined by John_14:27 (KJV) “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

d)      Honor – The word Honor also means a strong moral character or strength; and adherence to ethical principle; it is also among other definitions, a good name or good reputation. The bible says that “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” Proverb 22:1 (KJV). One of the signals of experiencing the smooth side of the cross is a good name; you will be known as someone who has a strong moral and ethical values; someone whose life is based on godly principles and convictions. 

     This is the period in your walk with God that you earnestly seek for the approval of God rather than the approval of Men; a season of seeking private reputation rather than a public reputation, in other words you will seek to receive the Honor of the Father of all creations as pronounced in John 12:26 (KJV)  “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” This is when titles and entitlements will be irrelevant in your daily mental consideration, but all you will seek, is to know 

     Him as stated by Apostle Paul in  Phillipians_3:10 (KJV) “ That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death”. This is the juncture where any act and motive that are dishonorable in your life are rendered inactive, because of the pummeling you received at the rough side of the cross; it is the period where the flesh and its negative tendencies are limited.

It is at this stage of our lives that we would start exacting monumental influence in our world; this is the point where the world will pause and look up to the church once again for solutions to the myriads of problem that is confronting it. This is the place of sonship and exacting the influence of God in our world. It is the place where our lives as Christians becomes that salt that preserves our society from corruption and decay as stated in Mathew_5:13 (KJV) “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” 

One must take cognizant of the fact that experiencing glory, fruitfulness and honor in our lives without an assurance of salvation is of no value and is nowhere near experiencing the smooth side of the cross. The work that Christ did on the cross was all summed up in one truth that is “All who believe may not perish, but have eternal life.”

“The smooth side of the cross is a season of seeking private reputation instead of a public reputation,”

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK WITH THE SUB TOPIC -“How to Survive the Rough side of the Cross”

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