“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Gal. 6:14)

There is only one reason to boast: The cross of Christ. It’s all about Jesus. What Jesus said, what Jesus did. Central to that is the cross. Jesus was crucified on the cross. Not so much what was done to Him but what He did in being crucified. They did a lot to Him. They beat Him with whips. They spat on Him and cursed him. They took His clothes and His dignity. They crowned Him with thorns and inflicted physical pain on His flesh. They took away His judgment and nailed him to a criminal’s cross.

It was nothing compared to what He did. He willed His own death. He forgave them of the wrongs they did. He suffered in silence. He paid the price for every sinner, even the ones who reject Him. He went to hell so that mankind would not have to. He, the Son of God, endured the forsaking of His father. No physical pain can compare with the Spiritual pain of being without God that is why hell is pictured as eternal torment.

The world has been crucified as far as we are concerned. For the Christian, Christ’s death on the cross severed the hold the world had on them. Once the world enslaved its inhabitants, but Christ set the captives free with his death on the cross. The hold of the world was death. Death was seen as the last enemy of Christ and thus mankind. Christ died on the cross for us. Not physical death but spiritual death. Eternal death, which is what the world was holding us for, has been conquered.

We have been crucified to the world because we partake of Christ’s crucifixion. Those who put on Christ died to the world, are buried in water and Spirit and rise free from the sins of the world. The sinner has experienced the crucifixion to the world in sharing Christ’s crucifixion. No wonder Paul is famous for saying, “I want to know nothing but Christ crucified.”

Task for Today: Whatever you are doing today, do not boast in anything but the cross of Christ. Live as a person free from the world knowing that it has been crucified to you and you to it. Free, free at last, praise God.