Follow Far

No Scar?

 

Hast thou no scar?

No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?

I hear thee sung as mighty in the land;

I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star.

Hast thou no scar?

 

Hast thou no wound?

Yet I was wounded by the archers, spent,

Leaned me against a tree to die, and rent

By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned.

Hast thou no wound?

 

No wound? No scar?

Yet as the Master shall the servant be,

And, pierced are the feet that follow Me.

But thine are whole; can he have followed far

Who has nor wound nor scar?

 

-Amy Carmichael

From Mountain Breezes: The Collected Poems of Amy Carmichael (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1999), 173.

Can you hear it? The whispered question, spoken gently, seriously. 

How far will you follow Me?

Suffering invites us to follow far, to follow the gracious Messiah, who, even as He bears up His cross to Calvary, thinks of us.

Come, follow Me.

Lent is a season of invitation. Come, follow Me. #Lent Share on X

Come you whole, be not afraid of following Me through sorrow. Come you wounded, come you pierced. Come all you scarred. Follow Me and you will surely see the night give way to morning and death swallowed up in victory.

Will you follow Him today?

Lord, I admit I would sometimes rather sit and nurse my wounds awhile until the suffering has passed. The cross is heavy. Strengthen me to rise and follow You today. Amen.

@audreycfrank

Photo by Ricky Turner on Unsplash