"Finish Line"

Jesus saw it coming,

Knew it from the first,

His death would be the answer,

For all of this world’s thirst.

He would be the seed that’s sown,

Fallen to the ground,

But when it dies, it blossoms,

So new life can be found.

The quintessential nightmare,

The cosmic divine plan,

Humankind’s disaster,

Came down to this one man.

Scandalous with beauty,

Fearless for God’s call,

Bearing all the sorrow,

Perversions, sins and all.

Came to final moments,

Angels from eternity,

Watched in rapt amazement,

For they recognized that He,

Was the One they worshipped,

But now upon His face,

There was no more glory,

But horror took its place.

And they knew they could save Him,

Millions in the host,

If He merely said the word,

For they loved Him the most.

Father, if it’s possible,

Let this rank cup pass,

But not My will, but Yours be done,

He prayed at the last.

And so we know the story,

Of that Holy Week,

We do well to remember,

And His Kingdom seek.

For Jesus never faltered,

From all the Father asked,

And that is our salvation,

And where our sins are cast.

God, help us pray like Jesus,

Not our will, but Thine,

Help us not to falter,

But cross the finish line.

“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” (Hebrews 12:2, NLT)

Jesus went all the way. Not halfway, not part of the way, all the way. All the way to the nightmare of the cross and its agonizing terror. Not just physically, but the spiritual weight of the entire human race. Unimaginable when you stop to really think about it. Betrayed, discredited, rejected, tortured, ruined, and then literally becoming sin so that we might look to Him for salvation. All the way to hell…for me, for you. I knew it from childhood, but saw the reality as a teenager. How? I don’t really know, except to say the Spirit showed me. I saw Jesus in my mind’s eye dying on the cross, heaving against the nails. I saw insects covering His body, especially clustering in his eyes. I saw vomit and blood and horror. It was worse than any picture I had ever seen. And I knew He had done it for me. Life changed that day. I have not lived anything close to a perfect life, but seeing the cross was the turning point for me. I hope you will see it, too.

Lord, give us the full impact of Your sacrifice for us, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Clark Kelley Price, clarkkelleyprice.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Clark, and God bless you.