The reality of Jesus the Christ being crucified on a Roman cross is embedded into virtually all Christian minds. Yet, somehow too, the cross is the most prominent symbol that other faiths recognize about those that are Christians. It does seem strange that the cross, of which Jesus was cruelly crucified upon, would be the symbol, that is voluntarily represented and even venerated by those that are Christian, for not only is that highly unusual, for someone to represent their faith with the instrument of their chosen one's ignoble death, it doesn't seem to make any logical sense, especially since early Christians were first identified by the symbol of a fish, in addition to their being other symbols that would seem much more appropriate such as, for instance, a dove.
The thing about the cross is that this symbol, rather than being seen as a symbol of a shameful death and defeat, has been manifested into the transformation and the resurrection of the overcoming of physical death with His glorious rebirth beyond all such limitations. This means that the cross is now represented as our call to take those things that hold us back from being all that we could be, such as our anger, hate, impatience, intolerance, and selfishness and crucifying these wrongful attributes that inhibit us from being what we should be such as loving, peacemakers, patient, tolerant, and considerate.
The cross then is the symbol to kill off and to defeat the very things that impede us and thereby to transform ourselves and to become what we should become and what we need to become in order to clearly be a new person in Christ. For it isn't good enough to claim that one is a Christian, if fundamentally we have changed nothing within our own persona, for to truly take up the cross of Christ, necessitates replacing and defeating all the sins of our life and thereby resurrecting ourselves as a new person, in which our deeds and our actions, represent well the principles of the Christian religion.
This doesn't mean that we are not Christian, for failing to correct all of our faults, for it is in the trying and our determination that we make progress into becoming what a real Christian is all about, for the cross is exceedingly heavy, and the burden of past mistakes and wrong mindsets are not easily replaced, but having made up our minds to put our hand to the plow, it is thereby incumbent upon us to plow then a straight line, rebuking our former errors and deceits, and overcoming these things with right actions and steadfastness.
The cross is the crucible, and all those that take up this symbol, must then fulfill their mission for being, by overcoming the bad character traits that have held them back from being all that they should be, so that, the point of the cross is to recognize that none have a right to the crown, without having done their part to defeat all those vices that are inimical to the Christian belief, both personally as well as in providing our aid and assistance to our fellow brothers and sisters, for we are all One in Christ.