The Cross Still Stands
The Bible tells us that because of the disease of sin, our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). And Jesus tells us that “from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.” (Mark 7:21-22) All of our sinful behavior has its root in a sinful, prideful, heart and all too often we fail to recognize and repent of the attitudes and thoughts within us, tainting all that we do, as sinful in and of themselves. This is why Isaiah says that “all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (Isaiah 64:6), why even our songs of praise, our words of thanksgiving to God, or acts of charity, our service in the church are all unacceptable before God and worthy of condemnation before Him. Our holy God deserves to be the only object of worship and attention and He will not accept anything less. This song recognizes the fact that, in the words of the author of “The Dark Guest,” “I have a secret motive to eye my name in all I do.” But it does not stop at lamenting how thoroughly our sin has penetrated our beings, it goes on to declare the glory of the cross of Christ – that it can meet our deepest need! As we continue to trust in Christ’s work of atonement and propitiation for us on the cross, and as God reveals the deeper and deeper chasms of sinful motives that lie in our heart, we will gain a greater appreciation “of the great grace that saved such a wretch as I am.”
