Well it’s Tuesday but given our circumstances it seems everyday is a Monday and a Friday all at the same time. So here’s this week’s MusicMonday brought to you on a Tuesday! Now before you get too far into this, you’ll quickly realize that this week’s song is an old and very popular song in the church world. This song has been played and sung so many times I can’t even count it. But recently on a trip this song was on the playlist and it reminded me of my grandpa who has more days behind him than before him. This was and still is his song. And I honestly hope that it’s yours as well.

The message of this song is simple, yet profound. In the days and times in which we live there is only one thing that is certain. The cross still stands. Store are empty. Illness and fear of illness are swirling around us in a vortex of anxiety. Lies are filling our airwaves. The story seems to change with every press briefing. No one knows what to expect or what to think anymore.

So what is the message of that Old Rugged Cross? The cross was meant for torture and humiliation. It was meant to bring death and destruction to the one hanging there. The cross was to mock and eventually kill the one unlucky enough to die upon it. But today the cross has become a piece of jewelry or adornment in churches around the world. But the cross isn’t a decoration. It’s not a piece of jewelry. It is however a reminder. It’s a reminder of the humble end that will greet all of us one day. It’s a reminder not only of Jesus and his excruciating death, but also of each of us and the amazing and undeserved life that lay ahead of us.

Listen to Alan Jackson as he sings this Christian classic. Then sit for a minute and let that Old Rugged Cross hold onto you.