Jesus said; “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

They bring him down the dirt road into the town circle. His face is swollen from all the beatings. The blood runs down his face, back and shoulders. There’s a crown of thorns on the top of his head. The thorns pierce through his skin and into his skull. The pain is horrible. But his pain has only begun. They rip off the purple robe and expose his body. He is shackled to the whipping post. He is silent, not a word does he speak. The whips are raised against him. They beat him almost to his death. But his time is not yet. Mary looks at her son as he lies in a puddle of his own blood. The tears flow from her eyes. She wants to run to his rescue. She wants to hold him in her arms and love him. But she stands still, she knows the Son of God must suffer. But she is his earthly mother. Her heart is torn apart.
Now they pick him up and drag him into the street. His cross is thrown onto his back. They order him to take to the top of the hill. He staggers and falls with his cross. He gets up and falls again. A man in the crowd is ordered to help him. Simon helps this man he has never seen before. The people are screaming. Some are crying and some are confused. But some hate him and don’t even know him. The two make it to the top of the hill. The man they call Jesus is nailed through the hands and feet. He is raised and placed between two thieves. They mock him now; “You saved so many now save yourself.” He asks his father God to forgive them. Jesus; beaten and suffering on the cross takes the sins of the world and makes it his own. A man of no sin. His last words are; “It is finished.” He dies on the cross with all our sins. He came for a purpose and finished what he started. He taught to love one another. Taught to believe in the one and holy God. He taught us how to forgive. But most important he lived by example.
Jesus said; “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

That’s what Jesus did for us. His love has no boundaries for us.
He is a friend of mine.

Wayne Roe

6-29-07