Lest I forget Gethsemane,
Lest I forget thine agony,
Lest I forget thy love to me,
Lead me to Calvary. (Jennie Evelyn Hussey 1874-1958)
The path of life that we take is like the compass of our heart. It is our inner direction of right and wrong, hope and desire. It is the north, south, east and west of our choosing and the journey of our hopes and dreams. It is very personal and cannot be mixed with impersonal forces or claims.
The symbol of love is often portrayed as a heart, for love is heart felt and heart moved by desire and longing. Our heart is only given to the one we love above all others. There is good reason for this because true love is not just a feeling or an attraction. It goes far deeper and apprehends the meaning of truth and fidelity, which is sacrifice. Jesus placed love above all other virtues and feelings. The Greeks did not call this love in the general sense but agape meaning more than filial or patriotic affection. Gethsemane and Calvary show what the love of Jesus is like. It is a heart of love for his Father who asked for it and for mankind who needed it. The love of Jesus is not attractive until we know the reason why he loves us and how far he was prepared to go to show his love.
As you may know there are many who feel repulsed by such a holy love. Many followed him and left him when the going became tough. He was hated and accused of many things. Perhaps this passage from Isaiah sums up what I am trying to put into words: 'He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.' Isaiah 53:3-6 This then is the depth of God's love for us and the love of Jesus is the sacrifice of his life on earth for our salvation. The hymn writer goes on to say,
May I be willing, Lord, to bear,
Daily my cross for thee,
Even thy cup of grief to share;
Thou hast borne all for me.
Lest I forget thine agony,
Lest I forget thy love to me,
Lead me to Calvary. (Jennie Evelyn Hussey 1874-1958)
The path of life that we take is like the compass of our heart. It is our inner direction of right and wrong, hope and desire. It is the north, south, east and west of our choosing and the journey of our hopes and dreams. It is very personal and cannot be mixed with impersonal forces or claims.
The symbol of love is often portrayed as a heart, for love is heart felt and heart moved by desire and longing. Our heart is only given to the one we love above all others. There is good reason for this because true love is not just a feeling or an attraction. It goes far deeper and apprehends the meaning of truth and fidelity, which is sacrifice. Jesus placed love above all other virtues and feelings. The Greeks did not call this love in the general sense but agape meaning more than filial or patriotic affection. Gethsemane and Calvary show what the love of Jesus is like. It is a heart of love for his Father who asked for it and for mankind who needed it. The love of Jesus is not attractive until we know the reason why he loves us and how far he was prepared to go to show his love.
As you may know there are many who feel repulsed by such a holy love. Many followed him and left him when the going became tough. He was hated and accused of many things. Perhaps this passage from Isaiah sums up what I am trying to put into words: 'He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.' Isaiah 53:3-6 This then is the depth of God's love for us and the love of Jesus is the sacrifice of his life on earth for our salvation. The hymn writer goes on to say,
May I be willing, Lord, to bear,
Daily my cross for thee,
Even thy cup of grief to share;
Thou hast borne all for me.