Looking Unto the Cross..... A devotional for day 35 of LENT Monday, April 17 Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm). The young lad stretched open his arms, as wide as he could and exclaimed to his mother, "I love you this much." His mother responded by repeating the motion and the words. The boy noticed that his mother's reach was bigger than his was. This meant that his mother loved him more than he loved her. He thought for a moment, then looking across the room, announced triumphantly, "I love you all the way to the door." The exchange continued until finally the boy proclaimed, "I love you all the way up the sky." His mother, realizing her son had truly reached his limit, simply responded, "Me too." The Psalmist may have struggled with the same limitations as he wrote the opening words of today's Psalm. Wanting to write words of praise and honor for the Lord, he tried to express the vastness of the Lord's love, "Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies (Psalm 36:5, NIV)." After all, one senses that if the Psalmist had been able to think of something bigger, he would have used it. In his mind there was no way to make the Lord's love seem larger than this. It is, therefore, a great poetic image. After all, even today, especially with our enlightened knowledge of just how vast the "sky" really is, how could we describe the Lord's love any better? Actually, I do have a suggestion. From our perspective, we might do better, to turn around and think about it from the other direction. It isn't just that the Lord's love reaches up to the skies or the heavens, but that it reached all the way down to the earth and to us! Chances are you have seen the T-shirt with the image of Jesus, arms outstretched, nailed to a cross along with the printed slogan, "I love you this much." That is more than just a cute and clever T-shirt. It is in fact a profound reality. The Psalmist told us that the Lord's love reaches up to the heavens, but if you will, "look unto the cross," you will see that his love also reaches all the way down to the earth! Wilson L. Deaton Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA Dear Lord, What a mighty God You are! I cannot fathom just how much you love me, how much You care for me. You reached all the way down from Heaven to Earth in order to make that love known to me. Thank you so much for making a provision for my salvation, even though it meant that Your Son Jesus would have to come in the flesh and pay the supreme price. Help me to honor You in all that I do, feeble though it be. May Your love show through me that others may see You. Amen Suggested Daily Scripture Reading [Psalms 36:5-11] [Isa 42:1-9] [Heb 9:11-15] [John 12:1-11] Visit: 1999 Advent/Christmas Series Epiphany Series You may send e-mail comments or suggestions toYvonne Edwards. Page designed by: Yvonne Edwards Prayer by: Cecil Wallace Holy Land Pictures provided by Chuck Wilkes. Background credits goes to web elegance. Copyright © 2000 NazNet All rights reserved. International copyright secured.