It is not an uncommon thing for travelers among the Alps to see a black cross painted on a dangerous rock, or near the brink of a roaring torrent. This sign marks the spot where some too venturesome tourist lost his life; it also serves as a caution to those who come after, that they may go more carefully on their ways.
There they stand, these silent yet eloquent black crosses, telling that destruction and death lurk even amid the exquisite beauties of the Alpine heights, and warning others, who, by the charm of the scenery, might be lured to similar dangers and similar ends.
And has not the hand of God set marks upon the rocks by the side of the pathway of life, that we, who now pass along that common highway, may be warned by the fates of those who trod there before us? Over the names of Pharaoh, Jeroboam, and Belshazzar the fatal mark appears. They were among the royal ones of the earth, and lived in royal palaces, climbing the heights of pride and ambition until their terrible fall. And how great was their fall, even to destruction!
And even unto those slippery eminences does Satan lure many a soul today; for it is not necessary to be a "crowned" head to have a contemptuous heart.
Over the names of Judas, Herod, and Pilate stands the solemn mark; for, suddenly cut down by the stroke of God, they are warnings to others. Oh, let the remembrance of their awful ends scare any tempted one away from the brink of those sparkling torrents—the love of gold and the love of power—which, with their roar ever sounding in our ears, sweep precious souls into eternal ruin!
Down the long pages of the world's history, and also on the short leaflets of our own, we can recall names of celebrities, of school friends, of acquaintances, who have perished in the midst of their pleasures and pursuits. Should not the recollection be as an Alpine cross?
Now let us point the reader to a most sure Refuge and a never failing Guide. The Lord Jesus Christ hears the faintest cry for help, and receives everyone who turns to Him. And His Word—the Word of God—shows the way of escape from every danger and temptation; and that way is to look simply to Him.
Even in human matters it is easy to trust those who prove their love to us. How much more readily, then, should we yield ourselves in obedience to God, when we see so great and wonderful a proof of His love to us, in the death of His Son on Calvary!
A cross is truly the mark of a curse; but the cross of Calvary, upon which the Lord died, remains as an everlasting memorial of divine faith, and obedience, and love. He stooped to lift the curse of sin from off the creation of God, leaving, for Him, a luster of glory in its stead. And for us, He left the peace of a perfect salvation.
It is good to belong to Him. Safe in Him, you will not want the glittering gilded toys of earth, for your eyes will be delighted with the pure gold of God's treasures. You will not care to be great here where Christ was cast out, for you will long to see Him exalted in God's kingdom.
You will be glad to wait patiently until the time of His coming, and to say, in the words of Michael Angelo, the Italian sculptor and poet, "My one sole refuge is that love divine Which from the cross stretched out its arms to save."