And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. Mark 15:37

The old gospel song says “None of the ransomed ever knew how deep were the waters crossed, nor how dark the night that the Lord passed through ere He found the sheep that was lost.” (“The Ninety and Nine”)

I’m one of the ransomed.  I have no clue.

You and I stand outside the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. We hear His prayer in the Garden on the night before He was arrested. We see the sweat drops of blood and we sense His agony. Then we see Him hanging on the cross in great pain as He bore our sins and paid the ultimate price. But we have no way of knowing what He was enduring.

We stand outside, at a distance. We stand in awe.

The Heavenly Father must have valued something a great deal to have paid such a high price.

He must have valued someone a great deal.

We hear of people shelling out as much as a billion dollars to purchase a sports team.  We wonder whether it was worth what they paid and if they will ever regret it.

We are “bought with a price,” Scripture says.

“Jesus paid it all,” said the songwriter.

We must be of great value to the Father. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son….”

We wonder…

–Does He know what  a bum I am?  How unspiritual I am?  How carnal, how shallow?  And does that not matter?  Or does it grieve His heart?

–Does he love us in spite of such glaring faults and weaknesses?  And what does that say about Him?

–Is it right for me to feel special and “beloved” when I consider what He did to bring me into the family?  Or should I always feel like an intruder at someone else’s family reunion?

–Does it grieve Him the way we take so lightly the price Jesus paid for our salvation? We take the Lord’s Supper and scarcely hear the words, “This is my body which is broken for you,” “This is my blood shed for you.”

No doubt we take the cross lightly because we take our sin lightly.  My sins which are few and light required so little to make right.  God help us.

Lord Jesus, please don’t let my tiny comprehension of what You did for us make You feel bad.  With as much of me as I know, I love you.

Thank you for enduring all you did from so great a love. May we show our love to Thee by obeying all you have said.

And one more thing: Please increase my understanding and appreciation of the cross.  Like Paul, I want to glory in the cross, but my mind comprehends so little of what it meant that this is not an easy thing to do. 

May I grow in the grace and knowledge of Thee, my Lord.  Thank you.  Amen.