by Ethel L. Buchanan
A simple thing as a comment
Has caused a stirring in my mind
I received a revelation on the cross
Of a very different kind
I have a nephew, at the time he was 6
His Mom and I were talking back in June
He was playing with his toys
And running all around the room
He heard us mention his birthday
And he said: "I'm dying to be seven"
A thought leapt into my spirit:
"And I'm dying to get to heaven"
The days went by and still I knew
This thought was still in my mind
I got out pen and paper
And the Lord gave me this rhyme:
When I think of how my Jesus died
And what He did it for
I think of what went through His mind
And how He bore His scars
When Satan offered Jesus a chance
To have the world for His own
Jesus rebuked the devil, the world WAS His
And so was His heavenly throne
He was born humanity and lived his life
Shedding humanity every day
By dying to human temptation
And submitting to what His Father said
He knew His death would snatch from Hell
The victory for all mankind
Who would choose to live within His will
And die to their own state of mind
So as I think about the comparison
That Jesus is showing me
I realize I must die daily
And hang MY will on MY tree
The tree of SELF that mankind tries each day
To make the saints ignore
They say "Be Happy, Do Your Thing,
Live it Up a Little More"
But I must die to this old world
That I'm only passing through
Each day I crucify a little more of self
"Lord I want to be like You"
I'll endure the ridicule of those
Who don't know who Jesus is
Who think I have a boring life
But I'm happy because I'm His
It's only reasonable service
The suffering and the sacrifice
Because I'm living every day of my life
In the very image of Christ
And if I live for Him the way He lived
I'm prepared to die in His will
The same way He lay down His life
On that lonely, bloody hill
When people say "If I were you"
And say what they would do
Just because they see me smile
When they know I'm going through
I stand tall as a soldier
Ready to die for the cause
I announce "For God I Live and Die"
And they have to stop and pause
For now they see the old person they knew
Who would make sure to settle every score
Has died to all my sinful ways
Never to resurrect anymore
For me to rise in immortality
And to snatch victory from the grave
I must tell the sinner man each day
"Look and Live, My Jesus Saves!"
Yes, I'M DYING TO GET TO HEAVEN
I'll happily bear each cross
And anything Eternal life can't give
I count it all for loss
