"Take a stroll out to the hill.

Out to Calvary. Out to the cross where, with holy blood, the hand that placed you on the planet wrote the promise, 'God would give up His only Son before He'd give up on you.'"
"God would give up His only Son before He'd give up on you."


"When people spat in His face, He didn't spit back.
When the bystanders slapped Him, He didn't slap them.
When a whip ripped His sides, He didn't turn and and command the awaiting angels to stuff that whip down that soldiers throat.
And when human hands fastened the divine hands to a cross with spikes, it wasn't the soldiers who held the hands of Jesus steady. Those same hands that designed the dawn and crafted each cloud. Those same hands that blueprinted one incredible plan for you and me."

"On the eve of the cross, Jesus made His decision. He would rather go to hell for you, than go to Heaven without you."


"God couldn't turn His back on you. He couldn't because He saw you, and one look at you was all it took to convince Him. Right there in the middle of a world which isn't fair. He saw you cast into a river of life you didn't request. He saw you betrayed by those you love. He saw you with a body which gets sick and a heart which grows weak."

"Jesus planned His own sacrifice.
Jesus intentionally planted the tree from which His cross would be carved.
Jesus willingly placed the iron ore in the heart of the earth from which the nails would be cast.
Jesus voluntarily placed His Judas in the womb of a women.
Christ was the one who set in motion the political machinery that would send Pilate to Jerusalem.
Jesus didn't have to do it-but He did.

Keep climbing. And keep looking up. But make sure your eyes are on the Savior."

-All taken from 'The Gift for all People' by Max Lucado