The Cross of Christ   

John Newton was a British sailor and Anglican clergyman. Starting his career at sea, at a young age, he became involved with the slave trade for a few years, and was himself enslaved for a period. After experiencing a religious conversion, he became a minister, hymn-writer, and later a prominent supporter of the abolition of slavery. He was the author of many hymns, including perhaps the best-known hymn ever written, “Amazing Grace.” He also wrote this poem about the cross of Christ:
In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopp'd my wild career:
I saw One hanging on a Tree
In agonies and blood,
Who fix'd His languid eyes on me
As near His Cross I stood.
Sure never till my latest breath,
Can I forget that look:
It seem'd to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke:
My conscience felt and own'd the guilt,
And plunged me in despair:
I saw my sins His Blood had spilt,
And help'd to nail Him there.
Alas! I knew not what I did!
But now my tears are vain:
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain!
A second look He gave, which said,
“I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid;
I die that thou may'st live.”
Thus, while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.
With pleasing grief, and mournful joy,
My spirit now if fill'd,
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by Him I kill'd!
If I set out to write a poem about Christ on the cross, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t sound much like the way Newton conveyed his thoughts. But I think the sentiment might be somewhat the same. How dreadful it is that my sins were the cause of Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. But how awesome it is that He loved me that much.
In 1 Peter 2:24, Peter wrote, “And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” The life He gave on the cross changes the life I have eternally. And being overwhelmed by that loving sacrifice on my behalf, that life He gave on the cross also changes the life I live now. How can I not, with humble gratitude, give my life back to Him?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't Walk Alone    The following article is from an email that was sent to me once by a dear friend (who, coincidentally, was diagnosed with breast cancer just a short time later)... My cousin, Donnie, lost his beautiful sweet wife to pancreatic cancer earlier this month. Jeannine was a precious person. She touched the lives of many people, family, and friends. Jeannine and I were not as close as we had been in the past due to raising children and busy lives, but there are some things that will always be with me because of her. When our grandmother was in a nursing home in Chatom, Jeannine and I would travel, with her little one, Kimberly, to visit Nanny every Friday. Jeannine began visiting Nanny long before I had the opportunity to travel with her. We would load up her little car with the walker and car-seat and head to Chatom. Jeannine enjoyed this so much. She told me one of the reasons was so that Nanny could enjoy Kimberly as much as she could in her last years on this
Read more
A Great Book if Applied   While studying in the Holy Lands, a seminary professor heard about a man who claimed to have memorized the entire Old Testament , and in Hebrew!   Needless to say, the professor was astonished , and he asked to meet the man and see a demonstration.   A few days late r they sat together in the man ’ s home.  “ Where shall we begin? ” asked the man.  “How about Psalm 1 ?” replied the professor, who happened to be an avid student of the P salms.   Beginning with Psalm 1:1, the man began to recite from memory while the professor followed along in his Hebrew Bible.   For two hours the man continued word for word without a mistake as the professor sat in stunned silence.  Finally, w hen the demonstration was over, the professor discovered something even more astonishing about the man .  H e was an atheist!   Here was someone who knew the Scriptures better than most Christians ever will, and yet he didn ’ t even believe in God.  In one of my books by C
Read more
Room for More in the Family of God    In Luke 19:10 , Jesus said, “The Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”   Similarly, Paul told Timothy, “ This is a faithful/trustworthy saying, and it deserves full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).   It was 2000 years ago that our Lord came to give His life to save sinners, but there are still so many remaining who need salvation.   In Christ’s parable of the great supper, the servant went into the streets of the city and brought back many people.   But then he reported back to his master, “Lord, what y ou commanded has been done , and yet still there is room for more” (Luke 14:22).   God is still a God of abundant love and amazing grace , and t here is still room for more in the f amily of God!  And certainly we know there is still plenty of room in this our Pontotoc C hurch F amily for many more to come to Christ! The Great Commission is recorded for us in Matthew 28
Read more