King of my life, I crown Thou now
Thine shall the glory be
Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow
Lead me to Calvary
Lest I forget Gethsemane
Lest I forget Thine agony
Lest I forget Thy love for me
Lead me to Calvary
Show me the tomb where Thou was laid
Tenderly mourned and wept
Angels in robes of light arrayed
Guarded Thee whilst Thou slept
Let me like Mary, through the gloom
Come with a gift to Thee
Show to me now the empty tomb
Lead me to Calvary
May I be willing, Lord, to bear
Daily my cross for Thee
Even Thy cup of grief to share
Thou hast borne all for me
Fill me with Thy desire
For all who know not Thee
Then touch my lips with holy fire
to speak of Calvary
~ Sing this song with me as our prayer and worship today. ~
Jennie E. Hussey/WJ Kirkpatrick/ Performed by Andrew&Saskia Smith
* ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥ ~ *
And as they led Him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian,
coming out of the country, and on him they laid the Cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.
Luke 23:26
As we near this time in the year that we celebrate Easter, it is easy to focus on other things as we get nearer to the Easter weekend. Many of us are busy with family traditions and other things, and it is so easy to forget what Easter is really all about—just like we do at Christmas. Yet, Easter and Christmas are both about something different from the Easter Bunny and Santa.
During Easter, we celebrate the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We celebrate Christ’s defeat over sin and death. We celebrate His sacrifice so that we may live in eternity with God. Yet there is more to those three days than we often realize. In other people’s actions, we can see hints of what is expected of us as Christians.
When Christ was led to the Cross, the Roman soldiers pulled a man, Simon of Cyrene, from the crowd. The soldiers forced Simon to help Christ carry the Cross to Calvary. When you look at the verse above, notice the last phrase: “…that he might bear it after Jesus.” Now symbolism can take root here. As it is told to us and sung to us, when we accept Jesus, we are supposed to take up the Cross with Jesus.
In a way, this is saying that as Christians we take up the Cross with Jesus upon our acceptance of Him into our hearts. Just as Jesus took up the Cross to bear the weight of our sin, we should bear the Cross as a reminder of why Jesus died for us. Our Cross will be the sufferings and sorrow we endure here on Earth. Our Cross will be the persecution we receive from those who do not follow Christ. We will bear the Cross with Jesus.
By bearing the Cross with Jesus, we will be blessed with eternal life in Heaven. We will be able to beat death just as Jesus has. One day Christ will return and resurrect His faithful followers to return with Him to Heaven where we will spend eternity. We worship our God every day, and there will be no suffering or pain. There will be great joy and happiness abound.
* ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥ ~ *
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your sacrifice on the Cross. Without that sacrifice, we would not be able to look forward to eternal life. We would not be able to defeat death. Thank You for Your love and Your presence in our lives. In Jesus name, Amen.
