People who have encountered the cross, people who have carried a small part of it, know something that is the source of incredible joy: that evil is only the second-most powerful force in the universe. Do you know that? That is what the cross tells us—that there is something bigger and wider and deeper than evil, and that is the power of suffering love. Do you believe that?
From “When the Cross Lays Hold on You”, a sermon preached by Peter Storey in Duke chapel from Sermons from Duke Chapel (edited by William Willimon).