Dutch Sheets : Take Me to the Cross | Give Him 15: Daily Prayer with Dutch | June 1, 2026
Discovering God’s True Heart at the Cross: Finding Our Way Home
Our understanding of God profoundly influences how we approach Him in prayer, worship, and daily life. Throughout history—and for many believers today—God is often perceived as stern, quick to judge, and slow to forgive. While there are consequences to sin and justice flows from His holiness, Scripture continually emphasizes a different aspect of God’s character. Today, let’s contemplate how the cross—the central symbol of our faith—reveals God’s boundless grace and love, and invites each of us home, no matter how lost we feel.
The Misunderstood Nature of God’s Character
Many people, even devout Christians, carry the false image of a harsh and distant God. This misconception may stem from difficult experiences, religious teaching that focuses mainly on sin, or simply misunderstanding the fullness of Scripture. Yet verses like Psalm 145:8 assure us, “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” Similarly, Exodus 34:6 proclaims God as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Micah 7:18 goes even further and declares, “He delights to show mercy.” While there are many reminders of God’s mercy and patience, nowhere do we see this more clearly than at the cross.
The Cross: God’s Ultimate Act of Love
The cross is not just a historical event or a religious symbol; it stands for all time as the greatest expression of God’s love and grace toward humanity. It is at the cross that God’s heart is fully revealed—a heart willing to pay the highest price to rescue and restore us. Through the cross, we’re shown the true character of our Heavenly Father: self-giving, forgiving, and pursuing His children with relentless love.
“Take Me to the Cross”: A Story of Finding Home
Let me share an illustration that captures the power of the cross to guide our way. Imagine being lost in a massive, confusing city—a place where every street twists and turns and nothing seems familiar. That’s exactly what happened to a little girl wandering through the bustling city of London. A police officer found her crying, unable to give her address or phone number. She seemed unreachable, adrift in a sea of strangers and streets that led everywhere and nowhere. Then, suddenly, her eyes lit up with recognition: “I know the cross. Take me to the cross. I can find my way home from there.”
For two thousand years, the lost have found their way home through the cross. It’s not just a landmark on the map; it marks the pathway to the Father’s heart. No matter how confused or far we wander, returning to the cross restores us, reorients us, and leads us home.
The Cross Foreshadowed Throughout Scripture
The redemptive work of the cross isn’t just a New Testament revelation; it is woven throughout the entire biblical story. Even in the Old Testament, God used symbols, places, and ceremonies to paint vivid pictures of what was to come. One remarkable example is found in the story of two mountains: Ebal and Gerizim.
Situated across from one another in the land of Israel, Mount Ebal was a bleak, barren height, whereas Mount Gerizim was lush and fertile. These mountains became symbols of spiritual realities: Ebal represented the barrenness and curse resulting from sin and disobedience, while Gerizim stood for fruitfulness and the blessings that come from walking with God.
The Drama of Blessings and Curses
In Joshua chapter 8, the nation of Israel gathered in between these two mountains, with representatives from half the tribes on Ebal and the other half on Gerizim. There, the blessings associated with obedience were declared from Gerizim and the curses tied to disobedience echoed from Ebal. The scene was dramatic—blessings and curses reverberating across the valley, visually and audibly illustrating the choices set before God’s people.
Yet, beneath the surface, God was preparing His people for a greater revelation. He commanded that an altar of stones be built on Mount Ebal—the very mount associated with curses. Sacrifices were to be offered there, and the law of Moses was to be written onto the whitewashed stones (Deuteronomy 27:1-8). The symbolism is profound: in humanity’s place of brokenness and curse, God provided a way for atonement and restoration, pointing forward to Christ’s sacrifice for us all.
Jesus: Our Sacrifice for Blessing
What those ancient Israelites couldn’t see fully was later unveiled in Jesus’s work on the cross. The Apostle Paul interprets these powerful Old Testament pictures through the lens of Christ’s redemptive work. In Galatians 3:13-14, Paul writes, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us…that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus.”
Paul also draws a parallel in Colossians 2:13-14, explaining that God “forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us…He took it away, nailing it to the cross.”
All those curses, written on stones at Mount Ebal, represent the charges against every one of us—yet Jesus took them upon Himself, bore our punishment, and replaced curse with blessing. The altar, the sacrifices, the law itself—all pointed to Christ, who would finish the work once and for all on a hill outside Jerusalem.
A Picture Painted for Eternity
Can you imagine Christ, watching from eternity as Israel enacted these prophetic ceremonies? Each curse shouted was a foreshadowing of the agony He would endure, and every blessing declared pointed to the joy that would flow from His victory. The cross was not an afterthought; it was God
