Boasting in the Joy of the Cross of Christ

A cross is a visible icon.  There are crosses on display all around us.  People wear them on a necklace or a bracelet.  They appear as stickers on car windows, store windows, and on church building windows.  It seems to be an appreciated image.
 
However, this symbol is often displayed in the midst of ungodly activity.  People wear them while participating in all kinds of sinful actions.  I have seen crosses around the necks of people who are cursing and swearing.  I have seen crosses in the possession of people who are drunk and stumbling around from the effects of the alcohol.  And, I have seen images of policemen arresting someone for a crime and those criminals were wearing a cross!
 
This seems to me to send a mixed message.  On the one hand, it is true that the cross symbolizes the defeat of sin and the forgiveness of sinners.  On the other hand, the display of the cross while in the middle of ungodly activity is hypocritical or, at least, misunderstood.  Do these people think that the cross allows them the freedom to do whatever they want and be forgiven anyway?
 
Paul did proclaim in Galatians 6:14, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…”  Paul was not an arrogant man.  He never boasted in his own accomplishments.  However, he was willing to boast in the one thing that really mattered—the cross of Jesus!
 
So, what does it mean to boast in the cross of Jesus?  The word translated “boast” has at its base the word for “neck.”  It means “to hold the head up.”  Paul admits that there is only one thing that gives him real confidence and that is what God has done through Christ. 
 
It does seem odd to boast in such a cruel symbol.  However, Jesus understood why He (and we) can do it.  Hebrews 12:2 admonishes the faithful, “…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
 
There was joy beyond the cross.  On the other side of the shame of the cross was the glory of the throne.  Jesus endured the cross so that He could return to reign in the throne room of heaven.  We can boast about the cross because it brought joy to Jesus as He provided salvation to us.  So, our joy comes from His joy that came through the cross!