Watching any college football game you can see young men in the stands in the coldest of weather who have removed their shirts and have painted their bodies in team colors and yell and scream unashamedly. You could say that these fans are obsessed. Sports fans display their obsession in various ways. They wear the team colors, know the team players, watch all the games, boast about their team’s accomplishments, and inform themselves with all of the facts and statistics. When their team wins they are ecstatic, when they lose they are deflated. This type of obsession engrosses a person’s attention and absorbs all of their time and energy. Perhaps all of us have some kind of obsession that we take joy in and are not ashamed to boast about it.
Paul had a lot in his life that he could have taken pride in. He was an astute scholar of the Old Testament and was considered extremely intelligent. He had a religious heritage that many would have loved. He also could have been proud of his adherence to the law being a Pharisee. Yet he did not boast about these achievements. He regarded these things as refuse in comparison to a greater obsession. His magnificent obsession was the cross of Christ. In Galatians 6:14 Paul says: “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”. In this verse Paul was boasting in something that seemed to everyone living in Bible times to be despicable. The cross was the horrible method of execution used by the Romans. But to those of us who know Christ, the cross is our glory, our boast, and our magnificent obsession. Through the cross we have forgiveness of our sins. Through the cross we have a joyful relationship with our wonderful Savior. Through the cross we have a purpose for living.
Our joy, our passion, and our boast as believers should be focused upon the Lord Jesus Christ and His cross. His cross is our glory and every day it should become our magnificent obsession.