The Old Rugged Cross

[Mission Mouse]

My dad loved this hymn. I'll have to search for the lyrics.

1. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

[Nonni]

Strange thoughts wandered through my mind while I dwelt on the lyrics. The foremost was that I owned the cross. That thought was quickly followed by this: The cross was not a physical object, it has long since been shattered and destroyed. My spirit still insists that that cross was mine. And that thought was comforting because I do not have to carry that cross nor do I need to suffer the pain nor the death for which it stood.

 

Quote

 

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

Refrain:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.

Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me someday to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.