Could you have borne for an instant
   the agony He felt,
as He hung there naked, in total shame,
   while around His family knelt?

Would the spikes pierced through your cramping limbs
   or the bleeding welts have been
too much for you to endure,
   for the sake of another's sin?

And if for all eternity
   you had dwelt in the Father's love,
would the cold dark chill of empty death
   enhance the silence from above?

If only for a moment
   you felt the tragedy of sin
like drying spit upon your face
   from the love you sought to win,

Then you'd have had a glimpse of love
   displayed upon the cross,
and to know this love, you'd gladly count
   all other now as loss.

J Christopher White