In his most recent sermon, John Ortberg says: We worship God at the manger. We rejoice with God at the empty tomb. But we encounter God at the cross.

In other words, the place we most clearly see who God is, what God is about, what kind of God we have is to look at the cross. If we want to sum up how God chooses to reveal Himself, it’s not ultimately through words, or laws, or rules, or dogma – it’s ultimately and conclusively through Jesus, the Among-Us and With-Us God, giving himself on the cross.

If we who know God most encounter Him at the cross, how do we expect those who don’t know God to encounter Him through us? Not laws, or rules, or dogma; but through our cruciform lives. We carry our crosses as we sacrificially give ourselves to others. What the world needs most, is what we need most: The Cross – the place where all the love of God met all the brokenness of this world, and Love Won! The Cross is the place where God’s victory began – a victory that will be complete at Jesus’ return.

Until then, it’s a victory we get to participate in – where we get to share that cruciform love with each other, and the world. The cross isn’t just a place where Jesus died; it’s also the place where love radiates through our lives, all throughout the world, and all throughout time.

So, where do you see God? Look to the cross. And help others look there, too.