The poet says,
I don’t understand
as I see You on the cross.
Why? Why did You do this for me?
You were stripped
of all your garments.
Why? Why did You do this for me?
They took You
and nailed You to the cross.
Why? Why did You do this for me?
You ask the Father to forgive,
and then You give up Your life.
Why? Why did You do this for me?
You did this for me
because of your sacred heart of love.
Dear Jesus,
as I see you crucified
on the Cross for me -
thank you, thank you!
For I have been forgiven,
And from my sins I have been set free.
But as You died for me,
so I must die for you,
I must die to myself.
And give my life as a gift to You.
So that through Your cross You will raise me up in the glory and power of Your resurrection, that I may enjoy your abundance forever.
Continued…
Friend: He has fallen again! This is His third time.
He has fallen climbing up the hill…the hill to Golgotha.
It’s time. Look up! This is the place that will change the world.
Me: I see the hill. I see the soldiers, the thieves, the people and even the priests who have come to mock Him…I see Mary, John, and Magdalene…I don’t know if I can do this…
Friend: We must go up, and you must follow Him.
Me: I know what is going to happen, I don’t want to do this, and I don’t want to see Him go through…
Friend: Would you rather stay in the desert?
Me: Yes! I would rather stay in the desert than to watch what they are about to do to Him.
Friend: Do you love Him?
Me: Yes, of course I do!
Friend: Then you must follow Him. You cannot not turn away from Him now – you must be with Him wherever He leads you.
Me: But…He is going to His death!
Friend: And so must you.
Me: What?
Friend : It’s time for you to die.
Me: Am I to die?
Friend: To yourself.
Me: Die to myself? What do you think I’ve been doing in this desert – if there is ever a slow death, it’s the desert!
Friend: Nevertheless, you must die to yourself. You still hold out on Him. There are things you tightly hold on to, and you won’t let go.
Come! We must follow him.
“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, “They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” So this is what the soldiers did.” JN 19: 23,24
Me: Look at what they are doing! They are stripping Him of His garments, humiliating Him in front of this crowd. Look at His enemies – how gleeful! There are people just standing around…why are they here? Look at His mother, John, and Magdalene…
Friend: He is willing to humble Himself, willing to be humiliated for His sheep. He stands there, stripped of everything He owns – because of His heart.
You must let everything go.
Me: Are you kidding me? Have you been through this desert? It takes everything from you. What do you think I have left?
Friend: If the desert has taken everything from you, why do you fight…
Me: When you go through the desert, it seems like you are stripped of everything, even your dignity. Everything that I’ve wanted to do has been taken away from me – what else does He want? He has taken everything!
You would be surprised how people react, much like what is happening right now. Some are happy to see you down, others are just curious, but there are only a few that really do care.
Friend: You have not lost everything; there are things that you grip very tightly…
Me; You better believe I do! What do you think? Just passively stand by and let the desert take everything from you? You expect me to stand here with nothing? I vowed that this desert wouldn’t take another thing from me!
You hold on tight – you have to – it’s all you have left.
Friend: Still, you must let it go. You must loosen your grip, and let go of everything you have kept from Him.
Me: I am afraid, I have lost so much! I have been so lonely, all the worry and fear – even my health has suffered.
I am afraid of letting go – I am afraid there will be nothing left – what will I do with nothing?
Friend: You must let it go, He waits for you to open your hand…
Me: His hands! Look at what they are doing, they are nailing His hands and feet to the cross! I am beyond feeling, my heart…
Friend: Look at Mary, John, and the other women.
Me: Where are the rest? There is the one that betrayed Him, only John is here. Where are the rest? Peter, James, Andrew – why aren’t they here?
Friend: He goes through this torment with only a few…
Me: This is what happens doesn’t it? It is surprising what happens to your “friends.” They seem to disappear when you go through hard times. People want to judge you, condemn you. They love to point their finger at you when you are down, and maybe get a good kick in when no one is looking.
You know what I think? I think I know some people that would gladly grab one of the hammers here and some nails…
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” LK 23:34
Friend: Stop! He is nailed to the cross for you! And He forgives even those who are hammering nails into His hands and feet.
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” LK 23: 42,43
Me: The first person to be with Jesus in paradise – is a thief! The beauty of His grace.
Friend: And the beauty of His heart of love. He will reach to the uttermost to save that which was lost – and you must remember to seek that which is lost.
Me: I feel that I am lost…alone.
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” JN 19:26,27
Me: Why does He say, woman? Why doesn’t He call her mother one last time?
Friend: He is pointing us to the Garden of Eden after the fall of Adam and Eve:
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Gen 3:15
She is that woman; and as she stands by His feet struck with a nail, Jesus crushes the head of the serpent.
Our salvation promised so long ago in the Garden is now fulfilled.
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matt 27:45,46
Me: This darkness. I can’t stand it – darkness in the middle of the day! It is unnerving, cold…
To hear Jesus cry out…in this eerie darkness, to hear His voice calling out to His Father in this silence…if He is forsaken then we all are forsaken! What hope do we have?
I am lost!
Friend: Jesus is forsaken so that we might be accepted, He is in darkness so that we may be in the light. He gives us His fellowship, and He gives us the right to be a child of His Father.
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. JN 19:28,29
Friend: He thirsts so that we may drink freely from of the wells of salvation, to drink of the Holy Spirit.
Me: I am thirsty, and have been for a long time – I long to drink from the fountain of the Holy Spirit.
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. JN 19:30
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. Matt 27:51
Friend: He is dead! It is over! He has given up His life.
Me: The ground is shaking! It’s an earthquake – the ground is going to swallow us up!
I can’t hear anything – the sound is deafening!
I stand before Jesus crucified!
JESUS! Forgive me! Thank you for giving Your life for me. All that You have suffered for me, all that You give to me!
I let go of everything and I give everything to you. I die to myself.
Whatever you want me to do, wherever You want me to go, whatever you want me to say – I surrender to Your will.
It seems as though I have been boxing, fighting something that is not even there…my fists are just flinging in the air not hitting anything. Now I know all along I have been fighting myself, and if I landed any blows – they were landing on me.
My fight is over, You are my Lord and my God.
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. Matt 27:38-42
Friend: Joseph and Nicodemus have come to take the body of Jesus.
Me: It is quiet, and the ground is still. All I can hear are the soldiers working on taking the body of Jesus from the cross.
I can also hear…I can hear the women crying;- I see Mary waiting for her Son.
Friend: Jesus is taken from the cross. and so will you be taken from yours – your trial, your desert will now end.
Me: I see Mary holding her Son. I see her sorrow, but I also see a peace – she knows what will happen…
Friend: They will now place Jesus in the tomb.
Just as Jesus is placed in a tomb where He cannot be seen, there is a time when you will not seen, when you are hidden.
Me: So the desert goes on…
Friend: No! You are out of the desert, but now the Holy Spirit has set you apart. That has been His intention all along; He has worked in you to remove all the wood, hay and stubble – so that only what is precious may remain.
You are set apart, and now you must wait on Him.
Me: It doesn’t seem like there is much left, that there isn’t much for Him to use.
Friend: There is much more in you than you know; it is hidden as Christ is now hidden. And just as Christ is resurrected in the fullness of life, glory and power – the stone can do nothing else but roll away – and is shown in victory to the world: so the Lord will open your door and lift you up to show His glory to the world.
All the work the Father has done inside you will be revealed; you will begin to understand yourself, and understand the work in Jesus He has called you to do.
So now, you are out of the desert, but hidden: and in a moment the stone will roll away as you walk out into His Garden of Abundance.
Me: Will you stay with me?
Friend: I will.
Me: I know now, it is over. I have His peace, I am in His will. I wait for Him to roll the stone away as I walk into His Garden of Abundance.
Oh, by the way…
Friend: Yes?
Me: After all this time we have walked together: What is your name?
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