The Reality of the Cross by Erin McBride

What do you see? A compass? A cross? Or do you see intersecting lines?

A person’s background impacts the way images are interpreted and valued. While walking down the streets of New York City, there are thousands of different cultural elements and pieces of texts that can catch a person’s eye. This particular one could be viewed using various lenses. Being born and raised Catholic, artifacts like this immediately bring forth my religious teachings and all the symbolic representation that is at attached to a “cross.” 

The cross represents the true character of God. Seeing the symbol of the cross in everyday society keeps alive the preaching of Christ and serves as a reminder to Christians and all others God’s message. The cross equates to Christ’s suffering. The cross represents a time of sacrifice but also of redemption. Christ died so that others could live. Therefore, it gives people a sense that since Christ died for us, we have a responsibility to implement his practices and lead a good, Christian life. The cross is the vehicle which was used against Jesus and which he sacrificed himself on so that others would learn and apply his message in their everyday life. This protects a person from false doctrine. The symbol of the cross is a reminder for people to do the right thing.

In other words, Christ gave himself up to allow the message that all wounds of sin are healed for the newcomers of this world. Peter 2:24-25 “Through Christ’s death on the cross, those who turn to Him are delivered from both the penalty and the power of sin”. Everyone has the ability to sin and people that chose to will feel the repercussions of their actions. Christ has left the decision of how to act in our hands. He has provided people choices, but each choice has a responsibility. Therefore, the image of the cross allows people to be reminded of past sacrifices and present and future actions. We do not have to be in a place of worship to be reminded of this. The symbolic resemblance allows a person’s schema to be activated and to reflect on its meaning of past, present, and future. 

The Cross can also be seen as a reminder to abide by the 10 commandments. The 10 commandments were rules the Christ wanted everyone to live by. They were the laws in which he created to try and keep order. These 10 commandments were nailed to the cross as a constant reminder to people that they should be partaking in the right actions because that is what Christ wanted for the world when he sacrificed his life for us. Commandments are a set of rules or parameters provided to Christians by Moses. Although the cross and the commandments are separate incidents in the history of Christianity, the cross provides a visual reminder to abide by “rules”. For instance God gave commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai to show us how to live a better life. Each commandment supports the teachings of Jesus such as the fifth commandment. “Honour thy mother and father.” In society today, people take parents for granted. Parents raise their kids, provide for their kids, give up life for their kid—but children tend to take that for granted. Seeing the cross is a constant reminder for children to continuously realize how grateful they should be.

This specific picture is closely related to the Latin cross. The Latin cross originated from the Scandinavian Bronze Age stones. It was a symbol to depict the Hammer of Thor; their God of Thunder and War. The cross was said to bring good luck and to divert evil. In the image of a cross, each line faces a different Cardinal direction. Therefore its circumference creates the entire world. This allows the cross to reach most of the 360 degrees in which the world makes up. By having the cross point in every direction, it is a visible and lively image that is accessible to everyone. 

            The cross is everywhere in society. People see the cross and forget what it is actually created to symbolize. The meaning behind the symbol of the cross should not be lost within people’s days, but serve as a reminder. People should learn from history so the mistakes occur less often—therefore not repeated. The cross is present for the betterment of people. The cross is there for people to strive towards the actions of Christ.