Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.  
 Colossians 3:5-7 (ESV)
 
     Recently I heard a young pastor giving advice to someone who was struggling with the unexpected trials in his life. He was wondering why God was permitting him to go through such turmoil. "You just need to go to the cross!" the pastor said.  Later I asked him what he meant by that. "Well he just needs to be broken. He must cling to the cross until he is humbled and ready to submit to God's will."
 
     I hope I understand what the pastor meant, but I fear that too often we see the cross as a place where we suppress our sinful tendencies by focusing on how much we need to change. We still cling to the elemental view that the more shamed we are, the more humble we will become, and the more like Jesus we shall be. I fear that we have the "excluded Adam" complex. Remember when Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden! Now excluded from the presence of God and separated from their assignment, they longed to get back in. What could they do to merit a second chance? Maybe if they punished themselves and reminded themselves of their sin that would be enough to appease God. Surely they struggled with these schemes.
 
      But God put their punishment on someone else. The last Adam (Jesus) took the sins of all first Adam's race and justified them based on his sacrifice. They are now recipients of mercy and safe in the justification granted to them by Jesus. They cannot be chased from the Garden again because of sins. They are more than innocent. They are forgiven.
 
      So the cross is not a place to go and cling for self humiliation. It is the place we go to find a power beyond the destruction of sin. Because we are in Christ in his death, we can put to death the habits and behaviors that went along with our old existence. The cross that was so despicable in its cruelty becomes our joy. It was there we were taken from "in sin" and placed "in Christ." Because of that eternal relationship we can say NO to the old ways and YES to the new life available.
 
      The grace of God does not take away the vileness of self-centered living. Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness are still idolatrous thieves that strip us of our dignity and purpose. They still destroy relationships and render stewardship void of meaning. Grace does not dilute sin. Wrath is still coming on these things that are enemies of God's good purposes. But grace gives us the power to apply death to them and life to our choices to embrace the bounty of Christ's life. We can say "no" to sin because we can say "yes" to the cross. Yes go to the cross! Not to find a place of self-flagellation, but a place of grace. Jesus died there so you would not have to hang there. Look up! We are sitting with him in heavenly places.