For Me 

   I sit before the crucifix, contemplating the suffering and death of my Lord.  One thing always come to mind; it should have been me.  Jesus was guilty of nothing; He is innocence personified.  It wasn’t for any wrong He committed but for my sins that He died.

   It was my debt that needed atonement.  I should have been the one stripped, tied to the pillar and scourged.  It should have been my head pierced by the crown of thorns.  It should have been upon my back that the cross was laid to carry through the streets of Jerusalem and on to Calvary.  My hands and feet are the ones that should have been nailed to the cross, my side opened by the soldier’s lance.  It was my debt that had to atoned.

   But it wasn’t me, it was my Lord, Jesus Christ.  A spotless lamb was required to atone for my sins, and I am far from spotless.  In His love, Jesus offered Himself as the unblemished lamb, the perfect sacrifice.  As a sinful man, stained and imperfect, I could not pay the price for my sins, so He paid it for me.

   He chose to suffer humiliation, abandonment, brutality, and finally a horrible death on a cross for me.  He loved me so much that He took it upon Himself to wipe my slate clean, to give me the opportunity of salvation.

   There is nothing I can do to repay Him, I can only live my life in thanksgiving and sorrow for the pain I caused Him and still cause Him by my sins.  I will offer Him my life that He may live in me. 

It was for me You died.

My sins nailed You to that cross.

I can’t repay.

I can only love and give myself to You. 

Amen