- Overcomer Literature Trust
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
“Lest I forget Gethsemane; Lest I forget Thine agony; Lest I forget Thy love for me; Lead me to Calvary”
Jennie Evelyn Hussey (1874-1958)
THE WONDER OF CALVARY.
By Rev Mark Weeden
Hills and mountains have an inspiring effect in many hearts, in emotional, admirable and challenging ways. “The hills are alive with the sound of music” touches sentimentally, mountain-top views inspire thoughtful gazing at the beauty of distant landscapes and jagged peaks challenge the adventurous to action.
Yet there is another hill, of no physical grandeur, but with indescribable significance which changed the course of world history. No great political or military event occurred, but the transformation of untold millions of hearts, whose combined influence altered nations and generations. An insignificant hill outside Jerusalem, routinely used for executions, was the place where Jesus of Nazareth was crucified.
Calvary.
Countless sermons have been preached, and hymns written of it over the centuries, reverently sung and taken up by new generations.
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
At Calvary, humankind’s greatest problem was solved and their greatest fear dispelled. The problem of sin and the fear of death have plagued us since the beginning. God, rich in mercy, gave His only begotten Son to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and bring hope for the future, even and especially beyond the grave.
Many true believers, who discovered these precious truths, have fallen into grievous sins, and their consciences smitten. Others have slipped into the Galatian problem, going back under law. It happens so imperceptibly, with unwritten rules in churches, picked up almost subtly by newer attendees. That “sense of blessing” becomes dulled and lost by the influence of those who want to control and remove that risky element of the gospel – grace.
What’s to be done? In both cases a fresh look at Calvary. A long, reflective gaze at the wonder of the Son of God, who alone lived perfectly, giving Himself up for us. Even a glimpse is enough to stir the Spirit within our hearts. As the great preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “run to the cross. And if you can’t run, walk. And if you can’t walk, crawl. And if you can’t crawl, look.”
The western world today is increasingly occupied with the concept of “safe spaces”. There is only one truly safe space, and that is at the foot of Calvary, gazing up at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s the place where sinners find salvation, the guilty find grace, the fearful find faith and the wayward get back into the Way.
It was said by the Catholic queen of England, Mary Tudor, “When I am dead and opened, you shall find ‘Calais’ [the French port closest to England] lying in my heart.” For the true believers in Jesus Christ, it will be found that Calvary is written in our hearts.