The cross was an awful thing. It wasn't just a symbol for the people of the early church, it was a tool of torture and execution that may have had some traumatic associations for many people. Sadly, they would have been desensitized to its cruelty because of how heavily it was used by the Roman Empire. Yet as Pastor Ricky points out in today's message, instead of despising it and banning even the mention of it, the early church claimed it as a symbol of the grace of their Savior.