The Rugged Cross in Poem

 Here is an original poem on the profound mystery and power of the rugged cross, woven with Scripture and imagery of redemption:

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**The Rugged Cross**  

*They call it rugged—this splintered beam,  

Stained with the weight of a thousand screams.  

A symbol of death, a scaffold of shame,  

Yet I cling to this wood, whispering His name.*  

*No polished gold, no jeweled embrace,  

But rough-hewn timber—love’s chosen place  

Where God stretched wide in agony’s throes,  

To break the curse that only He knows.*  

*"Cursed is the one who hangs upon a tree" (Deut. 21:23, Gal. 3:13),  

Yet Christ became that curse—for me.  

The nails tore deep, the darkness fell,  

To shatter the gates of death and hell.*  

*See the blood-seams in the grain?  

Where mercy washed our guilty stain (1 John 1:7).  

That vertical post—reaching from earth to sky—  

Bridged the chasm where lost souls die.*  

*Horizon-bar where His hands were spread,  

Gathering rebels once left for dead.  

"Come unto Me," the cross still cries (Matt. 11:28),  

As Love incarnate bleeds and dies.*  

*The world sees foolishness, weakness, loss (1 Cor. 1:18),  

But here—raw power that shatters the dross.  

This rugged cross, where Justice kissed Grace,  

Became my refuge, my resting place.*  

*So I’ll kneel here, where thorns met brow,  

Where sin’s great debt was canceled *now*.  

Till the day I rise, leave all earthly pain,  

And trade this rugged cross—for a crown (2 Tim. 4:8).*  

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### Key Scriptural Threads:  

1. **The Curse Reversed**  

   *"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’"* (Galatians 3:13). The cross transformed a symbol of shame into one of victory.  

2. **The Bridge of Reconciliation**  

   The vertical beam signifies restored *relationship with God*; the horizontal bar signifies *reconciled humanity* (Ephesians 2:16). Blood and wood became the meeting place of heaven and earth.  

3. **Foolishness to the World**  

   *"The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God"* (1 Corinthians 1:18). Its "ruggedness" confounds worldly wisdom.  

4. **Empty Tomb Assurance**  

   The cross is not the end—its victory is confirmed by resurrection. The poem’s closing lines echo Paul’s hope: *"There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness"* (2 Timothy 4:8).  

> ✨ **Did You Know?**  

> Early Christians rarely displayed the cross (avoiding Roman cruelty). By the 4th century, Emperor Constantine saw a vision of a cross with *"By this sign, conquer"*, adopting it as a symbol of triumph. Its "ruggedness" now declares: *Love wins where force fails*.  

May this poem draw you deeper into the wonder of Calvary—where brokenness became wholeness.