Eckhart Tolle explains how the cross works as a symbol for everyone, not just Christians. It shows suffering as both real torture and a path to something beyond pain, a non-verbal truth about what suffering is actually for.
Even if you're not a Christian, you can appreciate that there is actually a deep significance to the central image of Christianity. The cross is a torture instrument, obviously horrible, but at the same time, there's a dual nature to the cross, which is it's a symbol for the divine. So it points to something that one most humans would not understand if you talked about it, if you explained it in words, but the image contains a deep truth about the purpose and function of suffering and where it eventually can lead. It leads you then beyond suffering.
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