When we first were made to see,
You showed us a cross.
It was there that we saw our sin, our guilt, our shame
impaled on those timbers
where a Man hung whom we had not met.
We first encountered Him there
when we were made to see Him,
and we found forgiveness for those nails which our sin demanded,
and the crown of thorns our own hands
had crafted in our interwoven sin and placed upon
His sacred brow.
When we next saw,
You showed us a tomb.
There was no seal upon it, only a displaced stone
which had been rolled to the side and had rested there motionless,
looking failed for its design and impotent in its purpose.
Totally vacant, except for the hope
which now filled it for us,
that tomb held nothing for us to behold
so we walked away from there,
pondering the implications of His rising again,
noticing that within our hearts we felt the dawning
of new light and warmth of joy and possibilities.
He is alive. And our sin would not have the final say.
When we see today,
there is a throne before our eyes.
Unlike the tomb, the throne is fully occupied
by the very One we nailed to a cross,
by that Giver of life who laughed at the tomb.
Without guilt or shame or fear or dread
we bow to this Eternal King as He extends to us His scepter,
and we know He is welcoming us to draw nearer and nearer.
He smiles at us and declares with the voice of the ages,
“It is finished. Behold I am making all things new.”
So, we have glimpsed Him by faith and He has both stirred and stilled our hearts by His love.
How does He accomplish both the stirring and the stilling?
He is Jesus Christ, Son of God, Resurrection and Life,
Savior, Lord, Redeemer, Bridegroom, Master, Healer,
Champion, Defender, Rescuer, Prince of Peace, Friend
and King over every other king.
And He has called me in love by my very own name.
wow.. amen!
He is making all things new!
even now! i believe…
Yes, of all the things that my Master has given to me, taken from me , shown to me , spoken to me, prayed me through, guided me through, led the way ahead of me , followed me from behind, and stayed by my side through it all… it so brings hot and plentiful tears to my eyes when I realize and remember….He knows me.
It is wonderful that Jesus knows each of us by name. It also seems to be a smile that replaces the frown when I read things like this. Well done sir.
AMEN, Ricky!