"On a hill far away, stood an old rugged Cross The emblem of suff'ring and shame And I love that old Cross where the dearest and best For a world of lost sinners was slain So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross Till my trophies at last I lay down I will cling to the old rugged Cross And exchange it some day for a crown" One night i was watching the Voice of all things because my wife loves that show, and one of our favorite performers came on, one we often reminisced about how he looked like Honky Tonk Thor. This amazingly talented guys name was Craig Wayne Boyd, and if I remember correctly he ended up winning the voice. However, it wasn't his talent or good looks that struck us (see Thor comment above), but the fact that he was almost eliminated several times and then came out and performed The Old Rugged Cross. Previous to this, this wasn't a song I'd heard before, but for some reason I knew about it, and was pretty blown away that he would do that on live TV. For some people, this can be career suicide. Famous people like Bob Dylan and others faced backlash after their professions of Christ and publication of Christian music, and here's Craig Wayne Boyd singing it in a performance that he needs America to win with. Moreover, I was more blown away at how cool the song was, and until recently I'd forgot about it until my Spotify suggested the discover weekly playlist and it popped up in a slew of random and cool Christian music that was on there, this was after finding amazing covers of Christian music by Johnny Cash and Elvis btw (please listen to Elvis sing how great thou art, it's incredible and apparently his favorite worship song). Essentially, I say all that to say this, when realizing what the song says, it nearly made me cry. If you've been going through a lot, like I believe that Craig Wayne Boyd had, and life is hard and full of suffering and tragedy, it's best to cling to that Old Rugged Cross, especially during persecution and rejection. We often want to let go of the Cross or abandon it or look for an easy way out, but what we forget is what this song so eloquently puts, is that one day we will exchange that Old Rugged Cross for the crown of life, and an eternity in heaven. This is the hope we have as believers, that one day we will trade in that Old Rugged Cross for a crown in heaven. Much like Jesus traded it for a glorified body and a seat at his Father's right hand (Mark 16:19, Acts 2:33). So although things may be tough and your life may be hard, this is all a trial, and after the trial is over and during the suffering of it, God is using it to establish patience and when patience has done its work you will be perfect lacking nothing (James 1:4). Suffering, although painful, is something scripture tells us to rejoice in (James 1:2-3), and something that Christ willing endured, even death on that Old Rugged Cross, that we might be saved(Phil 2:6-8). He willingly chose that Old Rugged Cross, and I highly suggest you do too.
