Walking to the Cross

Ever faced an event with dread, knowing it will be difficult? Things like a critical interview, a big test, major surgery, a confrontation that has to happen come down the road to all of us. Some we can’t avoid, others we know we should do, but we wonder; “can I do it?” This is Passion Week. Jesus knew that the Cross was His destiny. It would be suffering unimaginable, loss of everything including His oneness with the Father. And here’s what Matthew’s Gospel tells us: "He began to be sorrowful and troubled." (Matthew 26:37, NIV) That word ‘troubled,’ is the word ‘ademoneo’ in the original language of NT, a strong word of emotion that speaks of being depressed! Jesus did not go gleefully to the Cross. He was broken-hearted, full of dread, and even prayed for release from it. “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?” (Matthew 26:39, The Message)

Obedience to the will of our heavenly Father will not always come from a heart full of joyful anticipation! Doing what God wants us to do may sometimes cause us great grief, be so overwhelming as to cause us to be depressed. What a thought. What sustained Jesus was seeing, by faith, the Glory that would be His on the other side of that awful cross. Think I’m just saying that? The Bible says that He "for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2, NKJV)

• Forgiving that person who has abused you so terribly may be nothing you want to do. Hating him feels so good, how could you give it up? “He doesn’t deserve forgiveness!” you scream. But your Father says you must. Will you die to yourself? It’s going to hurt.

• Letting go of that goal you know is not compatible with being a true disciple of Jesus is something you know that you have to do, but you don’t know how you will go forward in life if you turn away from it. The cost is huge, but your Father beckons.

• Facing that sinful habit and admitting it belongs to you and that it offends God is painful. For years you have blamed everyone, excused yourself, but now the Father says, “Let’s confront it and grow past it.” Hell’s fury will be unleashed when you deal with it and you know it.

• Will you let ego die? Will you take your talents, your gifts, your best hope of gaining worldly acclaim and let God use it, even if it means choosing obscurity? That is a crushing decision, isn’t it?

Things like that can make us feel the same kind of depression that Jesus felt as He looked toward the Cross, but He took courage from the promises of His Father. He prayed His way to the Cross. He drew on the strength of the Spirit and leaned on His friends, who failed Him in the end! And, on the other side of the pain, the loss, the blood, the groans, the cries – there is the glory of the Resurrection morning. He is the prototypical New Man and we know that ‘because He lives, we will live also.’

Are you walking to a cross? It is all right with the Lord if you weep. You are not a spiritual failure if embracing His will makes you weep. Just learn this passage and let the same kind of submission fill your life. The path to greater glory follows the way of the Cross. "He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth." (Philippians 2:8-10, NLT)

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Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)

One day when heaven was filled with His praises,
One day when sin was as black as could be,
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin;
Dwelt among men, my example is He.
The Word became flesh,
And the light shined among us,
His glory revealed

Living He loved me, dying He saved me,
Buried He carried my sins far away.
Rising, He justified; freely forever!
One day He's coming;
O glorious day!

O glorious day.

One day they led Him up Calv'ry's mountain,
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree,
Suffering anguish despised and rejected,
Bearing our sins my Redeemer is He!
The hand that healed nations,
Stretched out on a tree,
And took the nails from me,

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the door,
Then He arose over death He had conquered,
Now is ascended my Lord evermore.
Death could not hold Him,
The grave could not keep Him,
From rising again (rising again).

Living He loved me, dying He saved me,
Buried He carried my sins far away.
Rising, He justified; freely forever!
One day He's coming;
O glorious day!
O glorious day.

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