When He chose to leave His throne
And live beneath His rank
It wasn’t a risk-taking God
Hazarding an indeterminate adventure.
When He chose the barn to the palace
It wasn’t an experiment
To scorn the rich or humor the poor.
When He chose to be born
Submitting to those He created
He wasn’t testing to acquire a taste
Of humanity and humility.
When He chose that cross and death
It wasn’t a dare-death attempt.
Every choice He made, from heaven to earth
To grave and back, was all because of me.
Food For Thought: Don’t think that surrendering to such a gruesome death on the cross was business as usual for Christ. Accepting to come and to die is one thing, actually going through the experience, from beginning to the end, and not backing out at some point is what earned Him the seat on the right hand of the Father. Recall the parable of two sons whose father sent on a mission. One accepted to go but eventually changed his mind. He backed out when the implications of the task dawned on him. At first, the other son said, “No way sir, can’t do that,” but when He thought it through, he believed it was worth doing and delivered despite earlier conflict. Things like this play out in life everyday as we jump into things in a rush only to realize later that it was so much more than we contemplated. We claim we are entitled to change our mind. So also was Christ. We have changed our minds countless times about things we once believed and pursued. He did not. From the moment the reality of death loomed; as He sweated blood and water in the prayer garden, as they lied and jeered during trial, as the flogging tore His flesh, as the crown of shame pierced, as the cross threatened to do Him in even before He made it to Golgotha, as He hung on the cross shamed, pained, and mocked still; every single step of that route, that very day, Christ could have changed His mind. But He did not. You think He did not wonder if the Father would really raise Him to life? Even with doubts, despite His fears, He followed through until the end. He went through death as planned even though He could have changed His mind but didn’t, because of you and me – that calls for celebration!
Scripture: For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. Romans 5: 7.
Prayer: Dear Lord, You went so far to catch my attention, You came so far to bring me salvation, may I count the cost of reaching another nothing for the sake of Your glory, amen.