And so the journey begins – the journey to the Cross! In one sense, we make this trek once a year. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Good Friday, the day we commemorate the death of the Son of God who loves us and gave Himself for us; the day we ‘survey the wondrous Cross on which the Prince of Glory died”! It is a journey of reflection, remembrance, and repentance, often marked with solemnity and sacrifice.

In another sense, the journey begins when, in response to God’s grace, faith is first activated in the human heart. For me, it was almost five decades ago when, as a 12-year-old boy, I knelt at a wooden altar in the tabernacle at Delanco Camp in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, USA, confessed my sins to Jesus, accepted His forgiveness, and began a new life with His Spirit living inside me. It was the moment I was ‘born again’! I like to call it “the Divine Exchange”: my sin for His sacrifice; my confession for His forgiveness; my brokenness for His healing. In response to God’s grace, my faith was activated, and my journey began. It is a journey of discovery, discipleship, and detachment, but one that is marked with unconditional love, ineffable joy, and inexplicable peace.

And so it continues. It will continue beyond the Cross … to the Resurrection … and beyond, when one day, face to Face I will meet the One who saved me by His grace, I will feel the touch of His nail-scarred hand on my shoulder, and I will hear Him say to me, “Well done, My good and faithful servant, and welcome to Paradise, My dear, completed friend!”