A couple of times a week, I jump in my car and go for a long drive.
I work in the suburb adjacent to the one I live in. My four kilometre commute is only long enough to get through one of my favourite songs, and not even that if it’s the extended version. While it’s great being home quickly after work finishes, those few minutes of travel aren’t enough to decompress much from the pressures and issues encountered during a workday. So, on those days when my drive is almost an hour long, it’s a treat to be in the car with enough time to think things through properly, and sing along with more than one song.
A few weeks ago, on one of these drives, I was contemplating an argument I’d had with someone in my house. I can’t remember whether it was my husband or my son that I’d been cranky with, or even the topic of the argument. But that doesn’t matter, because what I was thinking about was how satisfying it is to have the final word, the one clever response that shuts an argument down, leaving you on top.
Towards the end of my contemplations, I started noticing the music emanating from the radio. I was tuned to our local Christian station, and recognised the tune being broadcast as one I’d sung at church. I love this particular song because instead of meandering about for a bit while working up to its message, it gets straight to the point in the opening lines. The song is by Cody Carnes and is titled ‘The Cross Has The Final Word.’ To make his point clear, Carnes sings the title line twice, right at the start.
All my thoughts of cutting final sentences or power plays evaporated while I drove and listened. The first verse proclaims that the statement of the Cross is stronger than anything Evil can throw at us. The next verse affirms that through Jesus’s sacrifice on the Cross, Eternal life conquered death.
Listening, I had one of those lightbulb moments. “That’s it!” I thought. “That’s the Everything Statement. This song tells us all we need to know. There is nothing greater than Jesus, Son of God, Saviour of the world, slamming death and sin and darkness. The Cross wins every argument, every time.”
This truth is striking in its simplicity. And I find it so encouraging that while struggling our way through the everyday grind in our flawed and imperfect ways, a simple song can show us the vastness of God’s love for us.
A son. A cross. A death.
A resurrection. A victory. The absolute Final Word.
Magnificent, don’t you think?