"Price"

I came across a sun-lit path,

Where cows and deer had trod,

I wondered as I lifted rein,

If on this grassy sod,

Other horsemen came this way,

In seasons time forgot,

A traveling to new country,

If they, like me, once thought,

That if this distant path they rode,

Would take them anywhere,

To a place of peace and rest,

And soon they would be there.

I brushed aside the limbs that grew,

A canopy of leaves,

Sheltering the shadows there,

Gave welcome, if you please.

And soon the path, it broadened,

Into a meadow green,

Well-watered by a bubbling brook,

As fine as you have seen.

And there the wildest cattle played,

And herds of horses, too,

Elk and deer and mountain sheep,

And rimmed by ridges blue.

And then I thought I heard a voice,

Speak softly on the wind,

My horse’s ears pricked forward,

And I heard it again.

The words came in a whisper,

Calling from the glen,

To bow my heart and worship,

No thought for where I’d been.

And I felt so unworthy,

To be hearing this so clear,

I wondered how it could be,

And why God led me here.

But no sooner than I thought it,

The sun became so bright,

That I could scarcely see at all,

Because there in the light,

Was the One who bled and died,

And then rose up again,

I knew that He was present,

And He forgave my sin.

It happened all so quickly,

The music died away,

The light returned to normal,

And all I have to say,

Is I rode back from that meadow,

On that winding well-worn trail,

And I will never be the same,

His presence did unveil,

The reason I was ever born,

To spread His love’s good news,

And If you gain eternal life,

It’s ‘cause control you lose.

In fact eternal treasure,

Is all that matters now,

And by His grace to find it,

And tell someone somehow.

I came across a sun-lit path,

Found Jesus Christ the way,

The truth and life, God’s only Son,

Worth any price we pay.

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it.” (Matthew 16:25, NIV)

Here us the great irony of commitment to Jesus Christ. If you save your life, which means you insist on controlling your life, you will lose it. But if we lose our lives for Jesus, we gain them. This means if we lose control to Jesus we discover the abundant life He promises us. So many of us hold out and hold onto the reins, thinking that if we give up and surrender, we will become miserable human beings. But the opposite is true. If we surrender, we find the peace and contentment that comes from not being God. Jesus is Lord.

Lord, help us to surrender to You without reservation, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mark Maggiori, used by permission. Thanks, Mark, and God bless you.