My Icon: Holy Cross

My icon is the Holy Cross. The Holy Cross represents Christian beliefs. The beliefs are God sent is son to earth to save man his name was Jesus. Jesus was the man form of God on earth and he helps spread his father’s message. The Holy Cross represents crucifixion. He was crucified on the cross he died on the cross. He died for all the sins man made. It is a reminder to Christians to have faith and you will have everlasting life spiritually. It is also a reminder of sorrow and how he gave his life of hatred for us. Just as an anchor holds a ship steady, so Christians believe that their faith and hope in Jesus is like an anchor holding their lives steady.
"Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:38)he also said, " if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily" (Luke 9:23)
The suffering of the crucifixion made the cross a dramatic symbol of pain, distress and burden bearing. I believe Jesus used the Cross as a symbol to portray the spiritual sacrifice required of his followers. The holy cross represents "Life". Around the world and throughout history, people have used signs and symbols in their faith. In many countries today, the most famous religious symbols are Christianity because it reminds people of the death of Jesus.
I truly believe that the holy cross is "only" used for good and never bad. The Holy Cross is used against us in many ways and it is not always used for good. For example, The KKK. They usually burned down the crosses because they had different beliefs. The Holy Cross is one of the earliest and most widely used Christian symbol. A great variety of crosses has developed some with specific symbolic meaning and others that have simply become culturally associated with certain group. The Cross because of what it represents it is the most potent and universal symbol of the Christian faith. It has inspired private devotions: for example, the sign of the Cross, which is an invocation of the Holy Trinity. We remember our lord's words," He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake shall find it” (Mt 10:38,39) Meditating on these words we unite ourselves with his obedience and his sacrifice.