"Still He Walked"

 

"Still He Walked"

 

He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify" "crucify"...

He could hear the hatred in their voices,

These were his chosen people.

He loved them,

And they were going to crucify him.

He was beaten, bleeding and weakened...

His heart was broken,

But still He walked.

He could see the crowd as he came from the palace.

He knew each of the faces so well.

He had created them.

He knew every smile, every laugh, and every shed tear,

But now they were contorted with rage and anger

His heart broke,

But still He walked.

He felt alone.

His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed him.

He searched the crowd for a loving face

And he saw very few.

Then he turned his eyes to the only one that mattered

Knowing that he would never be alone.

He looked back at the crowd...

At the people who were spitting at him

Throwing rocks at him and mocking him

And He knew that because of Him,

They would never be alone.

So for them, He walked.

The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes

echoed through the crowd.

The cheers of the crowd,

as his hands and feet were nailed to the cross,

Intensified with each blow.

And God's heart broke.

He had let His son walk.

Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering,

But instead He asked God to forgive.

Not to forgive him,

but to forgive the ones who were persecuting him.

As he hung on that cross,

dying an unimaginable death,

He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd,

But also, the face of every person yet to be,

And his heart filled with love.

As his body was dying, his heart was alive.

Alive with the limitless, unconditional love

he feels for each of us.

That is why He walked.

When I forget how much My God loves me,

...I remember his walk.

When I wonder if I can be forgiven,

...I remember his walk.

When I need to be reminded of how to live like Christ,

...I think of his walk.

And to show him how much I love him,

...I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to him,

......And I walk.

Author Unknown                               

"I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!  I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."

                                                                       Philipians 3: 10-14  (NLT)