It’s a long walk to the cross
So close thine eyes and breathe
Now gently bow thy head
And slowly bow thy knees.
For Christ in the garden did plead
Father take this cup from Me
Yet, Thy will, not Thine, be done
And the Father did answer His Son.
As Jesus did experience it all
The pain and suffering griefs
Surely you must understand
That we too will suffer these.
So listen as now we recount
The walk, the journey, the Call
Remembering to now follow Christ
You and I will experience it all.
He poured into those He was with
Every ounce of love that He was
Sharing the wisdom and pearls
That Father had given His Son.
Rejected amidst many men
For ” this is but the carpenter’s son.”
Miracles then became few
For the people refused to come.
An outcast of noted extreme
Avoided by the religious sect
Truth it became mere words
And The Word who is Love couldn’t bless.
For days and nights with His friends
He gave them all that He was
His heart was freely dispersed
To the hungry and thirsty ones.
Yet when such a time did arrive
For courage to stand up and fight
Betrayal from one of His own
Cost Him a walk that was long.
For some silver and temporal joys
His heart was crushed in hand cuffs
Silent before many a judge
Scattered the ones He did love.
Many had power to resist
From Peter to Pontius Pilate
For warned He was by His own wife
And Peter three times still denied.
Soon the sentence was hailed
Guilty of nothing at all
And now The Christ who came to heal
Would start the long walk to the cross.
I wonder did He see each face
Knowing our steps would be His
For did it press Him on to go
For His love for us…now He arose.
Did He see the ones who’d soon now go
“Follow me on down this road
Yes, there are many a thorns
That will pierce thy temples with scorn.”
Did His anguish with images then bear
For He knew the beginning and end
For her, Father, I now take this step
For Him… I weep in despair.
The lashes upon the whipping post
Did images flash of ones bowed low?
Seeing the anguish from fervent heart cries
Did it cause Him to cry at night?
When the cross laid heavy on Him
“For her, Father, I rise in the wind?”
That she might live free indeed
And soon I will come sup with thee.
The sting of pain in the heat
She will now know I saw it drip sweet
The rolling of sweat when she pleads
Yet, I will go help her to drink…
I’ll remind her the cup I did take
That bought her a white stone and new name
A chance to be all that I made
For soon My Cross will I raise.
With groans and unheard of pained cries
The nails were driven inside
For her, Father, now I will die
She too will feel this pierced side.
I’ll help her to know why it came
From a world and people of pride
The wounds that transgress so unkind
I’ll lift too her cross by My side.
The strength now in My legs is so week
From the hours of violent scourging
But soon One is commanded to lift
This cross too upon his own hip.
His plans and visions of heart
More pleasant than that with Christ’s mark
Yet death is required to follow Me
It’s a long walk to the cross, yes, indeed.
We’re here! It’s the place of Calvary!
Where love replaces all that binds thee
Where the betrayals, the losses, and deep griefs
Are the fellowship of His sufferings.
For its time His Cup you must drink
So learn to count it all loss
A disciple of Christ surrenders these
For it’s a long walk my friends to the cross .
March 26, 2016
