I grew up in North Central California only a couple hours drive away from Yosemite National Park. Yosemite is in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is a natural treasure, filled with rivers and streams, immense mountains, flowing meadows filled with trout, wildlife of every kind, and huge towering rocks.
As a kid my family routinely camped in and around Yosemite. My favorite place in Yosemite is Mirror Lake. In the early days of photography Mirror Lake was made famous by the father of landscape photography, Ansel Adams. As you look into Mirror Lake you see the most wonderful reflection of a colossal mountain, Mt. Watkins, perfectly reflected in the crystal clear water.
At the Cross, the mountainous mercy of God is reflected in just the same way. The Cross is a mirror reflection of the radical love and boundless grace of God.
You see, we are not, in fact, “sinners in the hands of an angry God”… we are “children in the warm embrace of a loving Father.” The cross is at once a beautiful reflection of the love of our Heavenly Father and a place of sorrow where our King demonstrated His love for us… and our need for him…