Wonder of Wonders
The
Seven Wonders of the World (of the Ancient World) is a
list of seven man-made wonders (built between 3000
B.C. and A.D. 476) that the ancients compiled:
-
The Great Pyramid of Giza
– a 13-acre, 450 foot high royal tomb.
-
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
– They were “hanging” because they were elevated,
perhaps built upon a ziggurat-type tower.
-
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
– a massive marble temple dedicated to the goddess
of fertility, which housed her statue, which was
said to have fallen from heaven.
-
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
– It was 40 feet high. Zeus’ body was made of
ivory, and his robe and ornaments of gold.
-
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
– a huge, white marble tomb for a provincial ruler
named Mausolus, so famous that all large tombs are
now called mausoleums.
-
The Colossus of Rhodes
– a huge, bronze statue to the sun god Helios, about
120 feet high (about as high as the Statue of
Liberty).
-
The Lighthouse of Alexandria
– It stood over 400 feet high with a fire burning at
the top to give light.
Interestingly, of the Seven Wonders, only one remains:
the Great Pyramid of Giza. *
There
was another man-made structure that was built early in
the 1st Century A.D. Those who built it
did not know that it would become the Wonder of
Wonders.
The structure was the Cross of Christ....
What made THIS particular cross so significant
was not the rough wood from which it was made, but the
ONE that was hung upon it! It was not the
wood but the One who was nailed to the cross that was
and is the Wonder of Wonders! This One was the Son of
God. He was nailed to the cross, not for His own
sins, but for the sins of the world – OUR sins!
The cross upon which Jesus died is the Wonder of
Wonders because it reveals the great LOVE of
God. “But God demonstrates His own love toward
us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died
for us” (Romans 5:8). WE were the ones who deserved
to die for OUR sins, but Jesus took our place. And
through HIS atoning sacrifice, we are saved from sin!
Jesus’ offer of salvation can be accepted by those
who: place their faith
and trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins
in repentance
(Acts 17:30-31), confess
Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are
baptized (immersed)
in His name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).
The actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified no
longer exists, but the One who died for us is ALIVE!
He rose from the dead, victorious over sin and death,
and now offers to us the opportunity to share in His
victory and life eternal.
Won’t
YOU accept His offer on
His terms?
David A. Sargent,
Minister
** Several disaster
relief agencies associated with the church of Christ are reaching out to
the victims of recent storms including the Churches of Christ Disaster
Response Team (www.churchesofchristdrt.org),
Churches of Christ Disaster Assistance (www.disasterassistancecoc.com),
and the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort (www.disasterreliefeffort.org).
See the websites for ways to help.
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
*
References: Caroline Taggart, I Used to Know That: stuff you forgot
from school (Reader’s Digest, 2009), p. 166; The World Book
Encyclopedia, 2003, “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World,” pp.
325-328; from Illustrations for Sermons,
www.illustrationsforsermons.com
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