My Tree - by Chris Rice

On a hill far away stands a tall mighty tree
Where a boy and girl used to take
turns pushing the tire swing
I remember the pocketknife in hand
And her name in my heart
And thinkin' there ain't no way for a boy to contain
The love that he feels inside
So I carved her name into my tree
Then I carved a heart around her name
Then I carved an arrow through the heart
Just to say "I love you"
Now on a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
I remember the nails through my hands
And your name in my heart
And how in their wordless way the nails explain
The love that I feel inside
As they carved your name into my tree
Where I wrapped my heart around your name
Then I took your arrow through my heart
Just to say, "I love you"
Just to say, "I love you"
Now I can never forget how much you mean to me
'Cause I will always remember whenever I see
Where I carved your name into my tree
Where I wrapped my heart around your name
Then I took your arrow through my heart
Just to say, "I love you"
Just to say, "I love you"

Enduring faith is one quality Christ demonstrated as he walked through those lonely hours from the olive garden of Gethsemane (lit. translated "oil press") to Golgotha, (lit. "the place of skulls"). In the garden of Gethsemane, he prayed and anguished so hard that he was sweating, and sweating blood. And, that was just the beginning of his endurance. He endured more hardship than many of us in western civilization could ever imagine -being whipped and tortured, abandoned by his closest friends, mocked by a whole city, bruised and beaten and then hung on a cross for all to see.

Through all of this, Hebrews indicates "for the joy set before him, he endured the cross..." In the midst of all this mockery and brutality, the Son of God had in his mind all of us, and his Father. He had me, he had you, at the forefront of his thoughts. It was for you and me that he was being tortured, whipped and forsaken. He saw the joy of knowing that we could be in close relationship with God, his Father, because of the cross. He was full of joy knowing that his life sacrifice was enough once and for all to make us right before God.

There are many things we can take from this enduring faith Christ demonstrated. Is it that I need to have the same enduring, joy-filled faith in God for a situation, knowing what is coming on the other side? Or, is it that I need to see God's plan for my life more clearly so the situations I encounter are only viewed through the glasses of God's plan for me? Or, is it that I haven't yet encountered Christ, the one who can make any situation an opportunity to be joyful?

Whatever you take, talk to Jesus about it. He's on the other side of the hardship, filled with joy to know you and I can talk to him about anything and he'll understand.