Setup:
My youngest sister texted me a playlist link on Easter Sunday while we were at our childhood home visiting Mom and family. She briefly explained the list and some details on the arrangements. I vowed that I would check out the songs the next day while I was driving for work.
The Stage:
On the route I drive for work (it changes everyday) I typically cover more than 300 miles over 10-12 hours. It’s a lot. A long day, many miles, stops, weather changes, etc. The route is beautiful though, covering areas of northern Vermont and the mountains of New Hampshire.
As I was headed north from Concord, I already had the list loaded and ready to play. The first line of the first song caught me off guard.
The Hymn’s Power:
Talk about a simple question that in the delivery and context is anything but simple. Were You There When They Crucified My Lord? In that very second my mind raced to the mind’s eye view I have of Jesus on the cross. Dark. Looking up to the Greatest Love there ever could be. Tears run from my eyes like they cannot escape earnestly enough.
I think of Charles Spurgeon’s beautiful use of the language here, “I love to feel the solemnity of the three hours of death shade, and to sit down therein and meditate with no companion but the august sufferer around whom that darkness lowered”.
Personal Connection:
Were You There When They Crucified My Lord? The smooth, somber, soft voices asked the question to begin the song. My heart reared in my chest like a wild stallion startled by a snake. Immediately, I had my own question. The beautiful song played on as I contemplated my inner frailty.
Soul Searching:
As a recently, former ‘sleeper soul’ awakened by a tragedy on 9/10 and a God who never left me, I had to be better. For God, For my Family, For my Country. The question in the song made me question whether I would have even recognized Jesus as the Son of God were I alive in His time here on earth. I shuddered. Breath started to be evasive.
The Bigger Truth:
As I asked myself, “Why does this question matter today”? First, in God’s infinite wisdom, He had my birth, my upbringing, and my life happening in this time. His time. I recognize Jesus as my Lord and Savior and I know that we cannot attain a life in heaven with the Lord Jesus on our own, no matter what we do. Except by realizing we all sin and that sin is the very separating factor.
So, we must come to Him and ask for forgiveness of our sins and lay down our sinful lives. This does not make us perfect or the rest of our lives easy. With the price we owe, but a debt we can never pay, we must come to Jesus and accept Him as our Savior. There is no other way.
Repeat:
I played the song over and over several times. I listened to the entire playlist twice, over the course of the day. Throughout the hours in the truck and the miles I covered I replayed songs many, many times.
Stop:
Finally, as I settled into the evening at home, before bed, I stopped everything. Quiet, dark, no distractions, I prayed. Thanking God for His provision and timing of my life felt like an obvious thing to do. And in that quiet, I remembered the empty tomb. The same question that stopped me in my tracks on the cross is the same question that leads me to the joy of Easter. He was there. And He rose.
New To Me:
If I had ever heard this song before I don’t remember it. The lyrics grabbed me by both shoulders and looked me square in the eye and interrogated me. I trembled. In humble adoration, I bow before the one true King and thank Him for this experience in this time. Perhaps the only time in my life that this would have landed the way that it did. God’s timing is perfect.
Listen to the hymn that moved me:
Visit my “Resurrection Hymns” page to hear “Were You There” and other songs from this playlist:
More reflections coming soon:
This is the first in a series of posts about these powerful hymns. Check back in the coming days as I share how other songs from the Resurrection Of A King playlist impacted me during that Easter Sunday drive through the mountains.
Watch my video reflection on this hymn: My YouTube Short Video on this