The Cross

 

Page 4    "Talking It Over" by Glenn Ford

Man does not hesitate to put a cross on a church building, but what  about the real temple of God, our bodies?

Moses under the authority of God instructed Israel to bind for a sign upon their hands the commandments of God, and that God's commandments shall be as frontlets between their eyes. Frontlets or Phylacteries are leather pouches that were worn by Israelites.  Under their arm on the left side, these pouches had one compartment that held four scriptures:  Deuteronomy 6:4-9 , Deuteronomy 11:13-21 (Commandments) and Exodus 13:11-16 , Exodus 13:1-10 (Passover); or around their heads with the pouch on their foreheads that had four compartments each holding one of these scriptures.

King Solomon with his wisdom, given to him by God, making him wiser than all men before Jesus Christ came (1 Kings 4:29-31), instructed us to: "Let not mercy and truth forsake us, but bind them about our necks, and to bind them continually upon our hearts, and tie them about our necks; also to bind them (mercy and truth) upon our fingers." (Prov. 7:3).

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of our Father God commanded us saying: and whosoever do not bear his cross, and come after me cannot be my disciple (St Luke 14:27). He also said to take up our cross daily and follow Him (His teachings). I do know that cruciform designs were used as emblems even before the Christian era. The Crux Ansata (ankh) or cross with a handle is common on Egyptian monuments as the symbol of immortality. The cross with equal arms and returned arms or Swastika is found on prehistoric relics in Italy and elsewhere. The Spanish conquers found the cross among the natives of Central America where it was a symbol of the God of rain. The cross has its history, and Jesus Christ made it the Christian symbol for a commemoration of His death for the cleansing of our sins to give us our immortality (everlasting life). Jesus Christ said to them all: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." (St Luke 9:23).