- photo by Susan PageWalking along the lakeside path near my home, I looked down and saw a rock in the shape of a heart. Beside it lay a couple of twigs which I fashioned into a cross. It brought tears to my eyes and caused me to reflect and deeply contemplate the sacrifice our Saviour made to redeem us and call us His own.

I left the cross and heart lying in the sand, hoping it would speak to someone. As world events unfold and seem to spiral out of control, I am purposefully choosing not to focus my thoughts on the headlines, but rather on our hope. I invite you to join me as we reflectively survey the cross.

At Easter we celebrate our Risen Lord. We cannot celebrate the joy and the victory before contemplating the cost of the sacrifice. Maybe, just maybe, we will begin to understand what sacrifice is all about in these rapidly changing days if we focus on our Saviour’s death.

During these weeks before Easter, the season of Lent, my mind is drawn further toward the graver meaning of the crucifixion.

Our salvation was purchased by our Saviour’s willingness to bear it all.

In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 27, we see the picture of the appalling beating and mocking that Christ was subjected to. Notice verse 30; “They spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again.”

I was completely overwhelmed by the thought that they spit on our Saviour and Lord. Can you imagine? How utterly humiliating and disgusting it is to be spat upon. Has it ever happened to you? Perhaps it has, metaphorically speaking.

Jesus understands all about our disappointments, heartaches, betrayals and pain. He understands what it feels like to be rejected and humiliated beyond anything we could imagine. He was perfect, yet He was publicly demeaned and nailed to a cross like a criminal. Yet, He said, “Father, forgive them.” This is amazing love!

We all face pain. Whether physical, emotional, spiritual or social ... we all have stories to tell. What do we do with the hurt? We have choices to make. No one has endured anything that is beyond the understanding of Jesus. He is our ultimate example. He forgave!

We can worship God in our pain. By God’s grace, we can forgive those who have hurt us.

Be reflective and try, with the help of God's Holy Spirit, to see how Jesus makes all things new even through our sufferings, just like He did on the cross. Let’s be thankful that we can manifest God’s glory through our hardships. By God’s grace, we can come alongside others with true empathy and understanding because of what Christ has brought us through. Even amid our heartache, He can use us.

Let us give thanks for God’s amazing grace, and Christ’s sacrificial gift on the cross. Christ was and is victorious and He is our hope. His suffering provided the way of Salvation. We can celebrate our sufferings because He can and will if we let Him fashion them for His glory. Jesus is our King, the hope of the world. Nothing is too hard for Him. No trial, no hurt, no grief, no dramatic headlines, no, not even death! Oh, the joy of that resurrection morning! He conquered the grave, Hallelujah!

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53: 4-5).

Susan Page is the daughter of the King, His beloved child, wonderfully forgiven and blessed! Susan longs to age gracefully, becoming more like Jesus as she seeks the hidden treasures revealed to her through Scripture, literature, the arts, humankind, and nature.