For those who know me, I am kind of famous for my “bling”.  My motto is, “If you can’t lose it, decorate it!”  I am also just drawn to the sparkly and girly.  I just can’t help it.   My most favorite accessory is a pair of earrings that dangle.  They have crosses that are gold with little diamonds in them.  I have had hundreds of compliments on these earrings over the years, so their beauty isn’t restricted to just me.

The thing with those earrings is not so much that they are pretty, but that they are crosses; which can be easily dismissed behind all the glitter and my impeccable fashion sense. (Ha ha ha!)  I see a lot of cross jewelry in my excursions and I, myself have missed the point behind the fashion at times, so I thought I should write about it…

I would be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate fashion, or compliments.  The reason I actually wear the cross is much deeper than those two reasons.

I grew up in a culture that frowned upon wearing the cross.  It was almost taboo.  I remember when I first became a true Christ follower; I still wouldn’t be caught dead wearing one!  As a new believer, I realized the gift of grace and eternal salvation.  I was amazed and in awe of the Cross and what happened there!  It had always been a part of the salvation process to me, but I hadn’t grasped the reality of Christ’s words, “It is finished.”  (John 19:30) When Christ died on that Cross, He literally took my place for all my sin – what I had already committed and what I would still commit.  When He died, the penalty was complete!

What I deserve for my pride, covetousness, lying, gossiping, theft, fornication, disrespect, slander, and greed is death and complete separation from a holy God.  (Romans 6:23) (Those are just some of the sins I have been guilty of.)  Any sin, as small as you may think it is, keeps us away from God.  The Creator of this earth is perfect and holy.  By His very nature, He cannot commune with us eternally as we live in our sinful state.

So, being the very definition of LOVE, God sent His one and only son – to take all of our sin to the point of punishment and death on a cross.  And it doesn’t even end there!  To fully beat sin, He died, then rose again, for us to have eternal life!  Without death, and removal of sin, there cannot be eternal life in the presence of God.

The Cross isn’t an idol that I worship, pray to, or even just consider a pretty accessory.  It’s the very representation that demands me to remember who I was and who I am now, in Christ.  It reminds me that Christ took my place.  It reminds me of how loved I am, and that I have the power of Christ in me.  “The very power to overcome sin and death and walk humbly with my God.” (Micah 6:8)

I hope that when people see the crosses dangling from my ears, they see Christ in me and not just my bling.  My prayer is for everyone to see the point of the Cross in all of the various fashion statements this world has made out if it.

Becoming a Christ follower doesn’t magically make me perfect, or even less hypocritical,  HA, I wish! But it does make me a new creation from the inside out.  The Holy Spirit has moved into my heart and is transforming me day by day.  I still sin.  The difference is that now I know I am forgiven and I have His Spirit convicting me and working in me.  It can only be by and through Him that this transformation can happen!  Honestly, just the fact that I am forgiven, and my punishment has been taken, gives me peace and fills me with gratitude, that is hard to ignore.  I can testify that my sin isn’t as easy to walk in, and my hearts desire is to be transformed into the likeness of Christ, which makes all the difference.

I know God has given me the gift of bling… (stay with me here.) Having an eternal perspective almost demands it! (tongue in cheek) Heaven is described pretty “blingy”:

Revelation 21:18-21 The wall was made of jasper, while the city itself was made of pure gold, yet it was as clear as glass.  The foundation stones of the wall of the city were decorated with every kind of jewel: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.  The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate expertly crafted from a single beautiful pearl. And the city street was pure gold, yet it was as transparent as glass.

As long as my outer adornment doesn’t take away from the Spirit of Christ in me – (1 Peter 3:3) then I am just displaying a little piece of heaven! Really. (see what I did there?)

If you have not trusted in Christ to be your Savior, it’s not hard!  He not only died for me, but for you too! If you want forgiveness of your sins and to be filled with the peace that only God can give, then just pray to Him.  Confess your sin, tell Him that you need Him and ask Him to take over your life.  I promise you that He will and it will be worth it.  Really.

What do you think of when you see the cross?