When I Think of Calvary

Luke 23:33
"And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they
crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left."

When I think of Calvary, I am overwhelmed and undone. I realize that because of my sin, the Author of life gave Himself in death and bore the pain and penalty that was rightly mine. I am reminded of how unworthy I am to enjoy the blessings of God and to be adopted as a son of the Most High God.

When I think of Calvary, I think of the awe inspiring event itself, and wonder if I could have watched the events unfold. I wonder, if I were a disciple, would I have left the Lord, denied His name, or stayed with Him until the end? Would I have been a man of courage and conviction, or would I have been so filled with self that I looked inward instead of upward and at my own prideful heart and not His, pierced and bleeding for me?

When I think of Calvary, I consider all that I have in Christ and the cost required to purchase that position and those riches. I think of the shed blood and the stripes by which my healing came. I think of the ancient promise and God's faithfulness to me through His Word. Everlasting faithfulness to the unfaithful, everlasting salvation for the sinner, everlasting cleansing for one so vile. And I stand amazed.

When I think of Calvary, I consider the wonder of God's wisdom and the vastness of His power. At the cross, He was both Just and Justifier. Sin could neither go ignored nor unpunished. A holy and righteous God must remain faithful to all of His attributes. Through the eternal perfect sacrifice of His Son, he both paid the price of justice and justified the lost, all in one. By His great power alone, he could have established salvation; but, He chose to root it not in power, but in righteous justice. By that choice, and that act, He demonstrated for all future time that right makes might, not might makes right, even for Him.

When I think of Calvary, I humbly consider that Jesus Christ, for a moment in time, allowed death to have mastery over Him. The human mind can scarcely comprehend such awe inspiring truth. I think of how, for me, the Scriptures state that He, "became obedient unto death, even death on a cross." How is it, in light of that truth, I still often find myself lacking in my own obedience to Him, in even the trivial things of life?

When I think of Calvary, I stand amazed that, although God is complete in Himself and totally self-sufficient, He chose to provide a way whereby we might be found in Him and have unbroken, sinless fellowship with Him for all eternity. How often do we contemplate the fact that God didn't NEED us, He WANTED us, to be His own? The thought of it, mysterious yet true, is too wonderful for words.

When I think of Calvary, I consider the atoning, perfect, eternal sacrifice of the Lamb of God and realize that he purchased my freedom from the bondage of sin, not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. The shedding of His blood, without which there is no remission of sin, covered, cleansed, and removed my sin and the sin of all those who come to Him by faith. I truly realize, looking at the cross, that there is no greater power, no greater power, in all the universe, than that of forgiveness. All matter and all evil is finite, not infinite; potent to be sure, but not omnipotent. God and His attributes alone are infinite and only He is all powerful. Our victory is assured.

When I think of Calvary, I realize that, through suffering comes glory and that I am required to take up my own cross and carry it daily for Him. I am to ever realize that in Christ, I am crucified and the life I now live I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I want to know Him more and be filled with Him. I want to be emptied of self, dead to self, and alive unto God in Jesus Christ. I want to know Him intimately, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, that I might be more Christlike in all that I am and all that I do.

When I think of Calvary, I think of how His resurrection was born through His death. The life He lives now He lives on the far side of death. The sting, power, and victory of death has been destroyed. Death itself has been destroyed and life and immortality has been brought to light in the good news of His resurrection. "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, because He lives, all fear is gone, and I know, who holds the future, and life is worth the living just because he lives." The resurrection is the cornerstone of the faith and the guarantee of my endless life in His.

When I think of Calvary, I fall on bended knee, prostrate before the King of Glory, overwhelmed with His love, mercy, and grace, mindful of how inadequate I am and undeserving, yet how honored I am to be His child. I know the awesome responsibility I have to share the treasure of His love, passing it from this jar of clay to the next, trusting in the power of the Lord and His Word to work in the hearts of men. I consider the eleven, and how they moved on in light of the empty tomb, sharing the transformative and revolutionary message of God's love with fallen man and marvel at how they turned the world upside down for Christ in their generation. I am ashamed at how little I have done, but yet I gratefully remember that He is not finished with me yet. Thank the Lord!

When I think of Calvary, I consider my life and remember to keep my focus upon the invisible, upon Christ seated at the right hand of the Father, the God-man ever interceding on my behalf. I am compelled to share the message, in my life and in His words, so that others might see that, for me, "To live IS Christ, to die IS gain." Calvary is the most precious, powerful reminder to me that nothing shall ever separate me from the love of God that binds me forever to Christ Jesus my Lord. "The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can tell..." My prayer is that, when you think of Calvary, it means the same to you. Maranatha!

The Love of God


The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God sent His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song!

Could we with ink the oceans fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above
Would drain the oceans dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song!

F. M. Lehman