Camouflage

I was sitting at a traffic light waiting for the light to turn green.
It was beautiful day.
I looked at the large tree that was on the corner right next to my car.
There it was…on the tree.
A cross.

You could hardly see it!
Two rough pieces of wood nailed to the trunk.
You would easily miss it, since it blended in so well with the bark.

The light turned green…and I drove on.
Camouflaged Cross.
How many have passed through this intersection and have never seen it?

I wondered why it was there.
Occasionally, people put crosses on the side of the road where they have tragically lost a loved one.

This cross was different.
It was large.
It was intentionally placed on the tree.
That cross made me stop…be still…and ponder.

There was no arrow pointing to the tree.
There was no sign explaining the significance of its placement.
For all intents and purposes, the cross was meant to blend into the background.
It called…ever so subtly.

Something you have seen or heard many times before, suddenly becomes clear.
It is not hidden any longer.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me….
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.

John Newton’s lyrics to his hymn, Amazing Grace, captures what I saw perfectly.

We are all blind to the Gospel.
Our hearts are not inclined to God.

There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. (Romans 3:10-12)

Until God’s amazing grace takes hold of us, the cross will remain camouflaged.
The truth of the Gospel is there, all along, but we can’t see it.
All we see are our good works…our striving…our efforts.

There is no surety in striving…there is only the need to try harder.
There is no rest when we try to gain grace.
Grace cannot be earned.
Grace is freely given.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9)

Grace is undeserved.
Grace is not earned.
If grace is earned…it would not be grace.

Until God’s amazing grace captures us, we cannot see.
The cross is camouflaged.
Christ is camouflaged.
Everything blends into the background.

We cannot run away from God’s grace.
God’s grace is irresistible.
Once our eyes are open, we finally see.
We begin to understand.

If I do good works and earn my salvation, how is that Good News?
I am simply getting “paid” what I am owed.

However, if I am a wretch, as John Newton describes, then I deserve punishment.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23)

Someone else died in my place, and took the punishment I deserved.
I had an insurmountable debt that was PAID IN FULL upon that cross.
A debt paid by the only One who could perfectly satisfy the wrath of a Holy God.
The wrath that belonged to me…but was poured out on Him.
Poured out on Jesus, the Son of God.

That is Good News!
I do not get what I deserve…which is death and punishment.
I receive what I don’t deserve…which is eternal life and righteousness.
Not a righteousness of my own…but Christ’s perfect righteousness.

Camouflaged no more!
The cross that was meant for me…hung my precious Savior instead.

A trade happened on the cross.
His Righteousness for my sin.
His death for my life.
God the Father was satisfied.

When I thought of the camouflaged cross I saw on the tree, I wondered something else.
As a believer in the Lord Jesus…saved by grace…am I a camouflaged Christian?
Do I blend into the background…inconspicuous…safe?

Lord Jesus, I desperately want others to see You clearly in me.
Help me shine brilliantly for You, so that the Gospel is proclaimed in my life.
No striving…just amazing grace…undeserved.
Lived out…uncovered…revealed!

_______________________________________________________________________

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me….
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.