The cross cannot be merely taught or reasoned; it must be experienced.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada. And people often say to me, “My, you are a strong person. I certainly admire your strength.” I always smile and thank them, but then I explain that I am an extremely weak person. My disability and my battle with pain are, for me, a daily reminder of how very weak, how very needy I really am. But that’s good! And here’s why: 1 Corinthians 1:24 describes the cross as the “power of God.” And weakness – that is, the empty-handed spiritual poverty that happens when you are down-for-the-count and nowhere else to turn – that kind of weakness is the key to God’s power in your lives. It’s why the cross cannot be merely taught or reasoned; it must be experienced – experienced in a kind of transaction in which we confess sin; and God imparts forgiveness; you acknowledge your poverty; he bestows riches. You yield your weakness; and he gives strength.
© Joni and Friends