boasting in the Cross

Though few and far between in this season of life, I enjoy reading in the calm quiet moments during my day. Right now I'm in the middle of reading Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper. In it, Piper talks about boasting in the cross and while I've been a believer since i was a young child, I've never really understood what that phrase meant until reading this book. As Piper explains, it means that you rejoice in the cross. Anything that we as believers are have or experience that is good or that was bad and God turns for good is something undeserved that was bought for us on the cross. We are not deserving of anything other than judgment and condemnation. Every good thing- or bad thing that God turns for good- from work, to sex, to cars, to leisure, to health, and even life is paid for in blood. Litterally every breath, every heart beat is an undeserved gift. Thinking about that while holding my little 9 month old brought tears to my eyes. I just stood there smelling his sweet baby smell and feeling his soft hair and skin against me cheek and cried. I just cried and was so very grateful for the cross, for his blood that paid for that moment, for his blood that paid for this healthy baby in my arms, that paid for this heart beat...and this heart beat...and this heart beat...and each and every breath I heard him breath in and out. The cross is why I had healthy pregnancies and safe births and healthy babies and a good husband and a lovely home. The cross is why I can step outside with my kids and see the joy on their faces as we catch ladybugs in the front yard. The cross is why I can taste the awesome sea scallops at Park Avenue Grill and why I have the ability to eat and digest food at all. The cross is the source of all joy, of all life, and I can never repay it. The awesome thing is, I don't have to repay it. It makes me think of that song by Third Day that says

And I know that you don't realize the fullness of my love
How I died upon the cross for your sins
And I know that you don't realize how much that I give you
But I promise, I would do it all again....

God is just so good. So much better than we deserve. He's not just the best thing. He's the only thing.