Lord, Do You Cry?

You were called a man of pain and sorrow,
So You could bind our wounds
You were beaten for our sin,
So we could be found sinless
You were bruised for our iniquity,
So You could bring hope.
You bore our shame, our disgrace
So You gave up Your holiness.
You took on Yourself a body of decay,
So You could know our weakness.
You bled and spilled Your precious blood
So You could cover our brokenness.
You look at us in utter helplessness
So You did the one thing that could save us.

Your Father cried and had to watch
As His only beloved son died
A painful, agonizing death upon a cross
For a crime, He did not commit.
The angels had to be held back
To keep from destroying all mankind.
Even the sun grew dark and refused to shine,
The ground shook in horror at the site.
But You did Your Father will
You built a bridge back to God.

We come Easter day to celebrate
The risen Lord and King.
We clean the cobweb off our Bibles,
We put on our finest clothes.
We filled the church pews
For our yearly pilgrimage.
We sing Hallelujah to the King of Kings
And glory to His name.
But no one walks the aisles
No one takes His gift so priceless.

Then we turn back to our idols
Work, money, pride, fun or sleep.
The pews are filled now
With only a faithful few.
They don’t have to dust their Bibles,
They are well marked and read.
No one has to tell them what You did
They know Your heart
They call You friend.

But tell me Lord, and Savior
How do you keep from crying
For all the ones that have fell away?
Where did they all go?
How do You keep your heart
From breaking into a million pieces
Over all the ones that still don’t know You
After all You done to show them?
How could You choose the cross
Knowing how many would close their hearts?
Even my heart is heavy and weeps
At the sight of empty seats and aisles
My tears running deep into the night.
How many tears have You cried?
Have You filled the ocean yet?
Why did you do it?

I know the answer, but it much too big a price to pay,
You surely did it because of me.
You knew that I would one day bow my knee
That one day I would turn and seek Thy Face.
That one day my heart would break.
Your love so great and mighty
That if I were the only one
Still You would take my place.
How can I dry Your tears?
I can never make it right
I can only give my heart.
It is Your forever more.

Kathy Barnes
Copyright 3-26-2008