Dying for You
“Why didn't it come true?”
she cried. “I believed. I had hope.”
There was no answer.
“Do you even hear
me?”
“I hear you, child,” he said
softly.
“But I thought you promised.
Will it ever happen?” She stood below his figure on the cross, defeated and
blinded by heartbreak.
“I’m dying right now. Dying for
you.”
She could not look up at
him.
“Look up at me,
child.”
“What do you want from me?” she cried.
“Just what do I need to do to make this happen?”
“Look up at me, child.” His
voice, soft against the darkening afternoon, resonated with longing. “Look up.
Not down. You must look at me.”
She was afraid of what she
would see.
“All I ask is that you look up. Is
that too much to ask? I’m dying for you.”
She had heard the weight of
his body tearing the flesh surrounding the nails. She had heard those nails
pounded into his hands and feet, but she had been unable to
watch.
“Why did you take my joy
away?” she finally cried, eyes focused on the ground beneath his
cross.
“You lost it
by yourself,” he said. “I never turned away from you. You looked up at me that
one time so long ago, and then you dropped your eyes from
mine.”
She felt the pull. It had
been so long.
“Look on me. My yoke is easy. My
burden is light.”
“I don’t want to feel your
pain.”
“But I feel yours, dear child. I know
yours.”
She wanted to look up, but it
would mean accepting his gift as her own.
“Please,” he cried. “I haven’t much
longer.”
As thunder rolled suddenly in
the distance, the cry of his heart resounded within her.
“Into your
hands, Father…” he whispered.
Gripped by
the terrible moment, her eyes swung upward. She barely saw his face, much less
his swollen eyes, now closed in obvious agony, yet also in anticipation of
imminent release.
“Lord,” she faintly
managed.
His eyes slowly opened.
Peering deeply into the crevices of her pain, her despair, her terror, he ripped
them from her heart, and took them upon himself.
“I commend my spirit,” he finished and
died.
She sank to her knees. She
could not remove her gaze from his face. She was suddenly
free.
Is there something you believe God
has promised you, and it didn't happen? Do you feel that God has abandoned you
in your need? That He doesn't understand? How can the Savior who died for you
not understand your pain? He is there for you right now. Lay your
discouragement, your pain, your suffering, your disappointment, and your heart
at the foot of His cross, and look up.
No comments:
Post a Comment