Written on October 13th of 2014 by Michael J. Hayes.
I sit in front of a mirror;
Its silent countenance reflecting my deep internal tears;
Sending deep shivers into my soul!
My guilt condemning me;
In my mind it would eventually fade;
Like the shadow of a man the mirror would soon not reflect.
It was then that I saw it:
It was slow, almost like it was fighting my skin to come out!
It created outlines on my eyes, toes and fingernails;
Then it spread like a invading virus!
Its deep crimson stain was unmistakable..it was blood.
Overtaken and weak, I fell to my knees...seeing my last page!
It is at that point that I looked up and saw something else:
It was crystal clear and specifically graphic;
It was Jesus on the cross!
The blood dripping to the ground;
The Crown of Thorns ripping and burying itself in His head!
Almost like a vicious criminal, looking to torture its victim even more!
As if on cue, it got worse as I heard him say:
"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"
That is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Why? What has he done?
Did He commit an indefensible crime?
Did He destroy a life?
Did He, even, sin against the God who had forsaken him?
Then, the verse from my childhood hit me with an undeniable power:
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."
He died for...me!
I was the sin-sick sinner who deserved the cross, the blood, the agony!
My passionately God-disposing heart who does not - and cannot - do one single thing to please Him;
My deep hatred of those who do not love me, and I abuse to my service;
The idolatry of my love - the modern world - in all its fleshly human-pleasing glory!
As time went; the memory of my deep, deep crimson river of my sin overwhelmed me evermore.
Yet there it was: it is all forgiven in Him!
You are saved by grace through faith, not from yourselves, a gift of God.
Not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ to do good works, prepared in advance for us to do by God.
He exchanged my sinful life, and the blood-stained robes for his spotless, sinless robes!
That is why Calvary is white blood for me: It was his blood that made me whole and sinless!
The realization of this shocking reality came with another surprise:
The blood was gone - praise God!
© 2014 Tri-Sola Poetry. Reprinted with permission.
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