The Journey to the Cross

Is the journey to the Cross our stairway to Heaven? Come with on the journey to the Cross this Holy Week. We were never meant to live forever fallen; we were always meant to live unfallen with God himself.

Dear reader,

My story begins with an innocence stolen and innocence redeemed by Jesus Christ. God loves us so much and from the beginning, He always had a rescue plan. You will read more about this in my upcoming poetry collection, “Prodigal Daughter: Poems of Light for Lost Ones” (The Way Back Books 2025). This collection is my journey of faith to God’s lovely redemption: celebrating His love.

But for today, I wanted to share with you a personal essay where I began with the question:

Is the journey to the Cross our stairway to Heaven?

As believers, we say yes! But do we still grapple with how to journey with the Cross on this side of Heaven? Indeed, we do. I invite you to join me in this act of pondering, reflecting, dreaming, and believing. (Also at the end I share Holy Week resources for you).

We need to be reminded of Jesus’ promise from the cradle to the grave to Heaven because not only has Jesus saved us in this life, but his death and Resurrection changed the course of mankind’s eternal destiny. It is here that we find Heaven’s celestial stairs.

Reflect on the one (Holy) week that changed the world.

The week started with joy and praise and ended with Jesus on the Cross—every moment from innocence to betrayal to shouts of crucify him—nails hammering, blood spilling, thorns tearing, linen hanging, and women weeping as the sky darkened. The earth quaked, the temple rumbled as the veil tore, and God in the flesh died a human death.

Imagine the sorrow of Jesus’ mother, disciples, and followers. It was as if all creation held its breath for three days, which is what it is like today, isn’t it? We have Good Friday, and while we may be finalizing weekend plans or at a lunch spot with friends, we feel the gravity of God’s love for us. Then, on Saturday, we wait, and although we are planning our menus, preparing Easter baskets, or dying eggs, we know what this Saturday really is. It is the day that we wait. We wait in anticipation as our sorrow turns into joy, like the night before Christmas (we know what is coming).

We will run to the tomb with Mary on Sunday morning and find it empty. Envision running into Jesus as he asked, “Why do you weep. I have risen.” When Mary heard this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and she did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” (John 20:11-13 NKJV)

Not only was Jesus, the disciples’ best friend, whom they loved, gone, but what of all Jesus’ teachings? What were they supposed to do? How could they continue? The wonderful thing about Jesus is He never leaves us alone to figure these things out. Just as Jesus showed up to the women outside the tomb, doubting Thomas and on the road to Emmaus, He shows up to us when we need Him. And that is what the Holy Days are. We intimately get in touch with the awe and wonder of our God, who loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us. To make a way for us, to bring us home forever. Jesus is forever. Our Salvation is forever. This is not a passing conversation, a decade, or even a lifetime. This is an eternal commitment. The Holy Days of Christmas transform into the Holy Days of the Resurrection. Our joyfulness is uncontainable because Jesus has risen. Hallelujah shouts across the heavens. Glory be to God in the highest. All creation sings jubilantly for the poor dying unfallen world no longer must die.

God is not one to do the normal.

Always doing the unexpected, like being born from a virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14). (Although it was expected by God, who prophesied Christ’s coming down to the last detail.) Dying on the Cross—again, it was prophesized (Psalm 31:5), but the Apostles did not expect it. Then Jesus rose from the dead, and although He said he would, no one expected it (Matthew 17:22-23).

This tells me that Jesus does more than I could ever expect or imagine. He is ever full of wonder, surprises, and unlimited delight. But we who live after the Resurrection can expect more resurrection power, the Second Coming. It is not will, or can it happen because the King is coming.

We were never meant to live fallen:

“Nicodemus said to Him [Jesus], “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4) Can a baby be born again? Nicodemus asked Jesus, not grasping the miracle that would soon be. Not yet seeing the plan God had made and orchestrated since the garden when he told the cunning serpent, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel,” (Genesis 3:15KJV).

It has always been about you and me. Our innocence was stolen in the garden, our unfallen fell, and we are born into this world as fallen. But God has offered us a way to return to our innocence—a wonderful rescue plan. He would send an innocent, His son Jesus, an unblemished Lamb who would be slain for our sins. In Jesus’s Resurrection, God makes a way for us to follow and return to innocence.

When we trust Jesus as our Savior and step onto the Pilgrim’s path back to our innocence, Savior, and God, one day, we will enter the unfallen garden, the new world, the celestial City, and sit at the feet of the Lamb.

With Jesus, we get to live this every day—we live in Resurrection joy, in the safety and security of our Salvation, our deliverance to the Holy City to unfallen Eden. As we walk through the Holy Days on our journey to the Cross, never forget God’s love—sending His Son to die to make a way to bring us home.

We were never meant to live forever fallen; we were always meant to live unfallen with God himself.

The journey to the Cross has everything to do with us because our Salvation is the most beautiful thing ever. What could be more exciting than celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus?

Note: The first draft of this essay first appeared in https://www.aletheiatoday.com/spirituality/the-journey-to-the-cross-is-our-journey-too March 24, 2024.

Thank you for reading and I would love to invite you to beautiful readings, listening and resources from my friends for this Holy Week.

Theresa M. Miller Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem: Holy Week through the Holy Land devotional. Theresa invites us to journey through the Holy Land with her during Holy Week, April 13 through April 20th. Relevant pictures, meaningful scripture, thoughtful reflections, and journal prompts will help you connect more intimately with Christ’s heart and embrace the peace He offers, as we journey together to the cross.

https://theresammiller.myflodesk.com

Kimberly Phinney new number 1 Christian poetry book, Exalted Ground: Poems of Praise and Lament for the Living for poetry to sing to your heart this Holy Week. Don’t miss this one friends.

Kimberly writes: God was teaching me that there is a way to praise in the pain, find the holy in the hard, and seek the sacred in the mundane. He said, “Everything, my daughter, is exalted ground because I am there.” He said, “Stop waiting for your life to get better, for your health to improve, for your grief to pass. Even these things are beautiful and sacred. Even your suffering is a crown when you invite me into it.” Pick up Exalted Ground Book Here

Whitney Akin shares her newest resource with us over at YouVersion (the Bible app) called Holy Week – Follow the Final Steps of Jesus.

Follow this link on your phone or computer to begin your Holy Week plan. She would love for us to study through the final steps of Jesus together as we prepare our hearts for Easter.

The Way Back to Ourselves Literary Journal: In His Garden. BEST NEWS YET! The Spring Collection will be available in print in addition to the free digital journal you have come to love. You will be able to purchase the print edition in May. So stay tuned for more details!

I recommend starting at the beginning as there is so much beautiful writing and photographs. I am blessed to have my poems Hallelujahs in the Garden Beds, Holy Soil, and In His Garden in this issue. These will be included in my upcoming poetry collection, “Prodigal Daughter: Poems of Light for Lost Ones” (The Way Back Books 2025).

Read In His Garden Literary Journal

Link to Deborah’s poem

I am sure I have missed other resources for us this Holy Week so if you have one please share in the comments.

God Bless and love,

Deborah

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