When the Cross Saves Twice

Last week, a 20-year-old man in Florida survived a gunshot to the chest because of something he was wearing — a cross necklace. His friend accidentally discharged a gun, and the bullet struck the cross hanging from his neck. Miraculously, the metal helped slow the bullet’s impact just enough to spare him from life-threatening injury — a moment some have called divine intervention. You can read the full report from CBN News.

But what struck me even more than the story itself was the young man’s response. He didn’t hesitate to give God the glory, saying plainly: “He’s the reason I’m still here today.”

Now, I’m not here to speculate on whether this was divine intervention. That’s not for me to decide. Only God knows why we are spared in one moment and taken in another. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away (Job 1:21). But what I do want to talk about is the deeper meaning behind that cross necklace — and why this story matters far beyond the physical.

Because this young man didn’t just wear a cross that saved his life. He wore a symbol of the One who saved his soul.

The Cross Isn’t Magic — But It Means Everything

We live in a culture that often reduces Christian symbols to fashion statements. People wear crosses, get them tattooed, or hang them in their car — sometimes with no thought about what it actually represents.

But the cross of Jesus Christ is not jewelry. It’s not decoration. It’s not superstition.

It’s the place where death was defeated.

That piece of jewelry around his neck may have stopped a bullet. But 2,000 years ago, the real Cross stopped something much greater — the eternal penalty of sin.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
— 1 Corinthians 1:18

The Boldness to Say His Name

In today’s world, it’s rare to see someone publicly give glory to Jesus. Even among Christians, there’s often a quiet hesitation — a fear of sounding too extreme, too preachy, too out of place. I’ve written before about the need for bold Christian faith in public life, and this moment reminded me just how powerful that witness can be.

This young man didn’t hold back. Right after surviving a potentially fatal accident, he said, “I give all the glory to God.” That may not seem radical to some, but in a culture that constantly pressures us to keep faith private, that kind of statement is bold.

He didn’t say “the universe protected me.”

He didn’t say “I got lucky.”

He said, “God saved me.”

That’s powerful. That’s unashamed faith. And that’s exactly the kind of courage we need more of today — not just in moments of crisis, but in everyday life.

Jesus said:
“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.”
— Matthew 10:32

God Decides the Outcome — But We Decide the Witness

I don’t pretend to know why this man was spared. The truth is, we all have an appointed time to die (Hebrews 9:27), and not one of us escapes that reality. Some lives are taken in an instant. Others are spared for reasons we may never fully understand.

But here’s what I do know: God is sovereign.

He alone determines when our time on earth is finished. And if He allowed this young man to live, then I believe there’s a purpose behind it — even if that purpose is as simple as boldly proclaiming Christ on the evening news.

Sometimes the greatest witness is simply surviving and speaking the name of Jesus out loud.

And who knows? Maybe someone watching that story, someone lost and searching, saw that cross and heard that name and felt the Holy Spirit stir their heart.

Because when the Cross saves twice — once physically, once eternally — it points to something far bigger than survival.

It points to salvation.

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Let’s not be ashamed to wear the Cross — and even more importantly, to live like we believe what happened on it.

I want to be the kind of man who gives glory to Jesus when things go right… and when they don’t. Because He’s not just the God who saves us from bullets. He’s the God who saved us from hell.

And that’s a miracle far greater than we’ll ever see on the news.

Arch Kennedy
Bold, Unfiltered, and Unafraid