By Pastor Kevin Barnhart
Spring Grove Evangelical Free
Like a young plant growing in dry ground, no form or majesty, no beauty, despised rejected a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief, one from whom men hide their faces, despised, carried our sorrow, stricken, pierced, crushed, and wounded for our transgressions.
And so it begins, our journey towards the cross. These words from Isaish prophecy of the coming Christ. The one on whom the sin of the world will rest on His shoulders, the one whom will stretch out his hands, feel the pierce of the nails breaking through skin, through ligaments, through bone, the one whom will bleed and die the death we deserve for our transgressions. Our coming King.
Re-read the words above and allow your heart to soak in this passage and stir in the closeness of this reality. Have you ever struggled with feeling the anguish of trying to grow in a dry parched land, felt the battle of not just growing a crop in the field with no rain but trying to thrive in a place, a land, a world, a family, a life that is filled with strife. Have you tried to spring forth with lack of water, lack of love, lack of support, trying to find hope in the dessert? Have you ever felt as if you had no beauty to behold, that you were unloved or worse yet unlovable? Has sorrow or grief ever come to unwelcomely knocking at your door; an illness, a diagnosis, a death, the loss of a job, a divorce, a broken relationship, an addiction, a dream lost, hope crushed; has your soul ever felt trodden under sorrow upon sorrow as a person who is deeply acquainted with grief? The journey to the cross, the road to Holy week is not a simple walk. It is a perilous and sacred time, it is an opportunity to saturate yourself in the suffering of Christ, to reflect upon the life of your Messiah. It is an invitation to not only see, touch, feel and know of Christ’s life and love but to find yourself there. To meet Him at the cross.
God sees you. Millions of people inhabit the world, and the creator of the heavens and earth sees you, He knows your heart, He created you, He loves you so deeply and recklessly that He will come into this messy world with one singular goal in mind- to save you. He knows the path that lies ahead of him, He knows the cost of coming, He sees the sorrow, shame, guilt, and weight of the world piling upon His shoulders and nailing Him beaten and broken to a tree; and still, He comes – He comes for You.
Let that soak into every part of your soul, let it drench your heart, and hold you fast.
Indeed, there will be times in this life that we all will certainly feel alone, lost and even abandoned. There will be times when we will all feel far too acquainted with grief and sorrow, too lost or rejected to even lift up our eyes … and yet …it is into this reality that the outpouring of a prophecy, the resolution of a truth, and a hope so immense that He wades in; He has, and will forever shatter all darkness, illuminate all hopelessness, and understand all sorrows. It may not come as we want it to … not for now … but He comes.
The walk to the cross is long, the journey to eternity is filled with mountains and valleys and yet we are invited to pick up our cross and to follow Him. Could you let your heart feel that hope? Could the sinews of your soul let in the magnitude of the Love of God in Christ Jesus for YOU? He did not have a life of ease, His mission was not simply perilous it was a death trap, and it is here in this space that the greatest love of all time searches for you, invites you to lift your eyes to the cross, to allow His blood, His love, His life, to allow HIM to tell your story and to save your soul. Walk towards Him, run towards Him, limp to Him, stagger, crawl, come broken, come dry, come all who are weary and need HIS REST! COME to the Friday that alone will bring the resurrection of Sunday. You may seem stuck on Saturday for a season but trust me a lot was happening that Saturday and Sunday is coming!
Meet Him at the Cross.
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