Awake, My Heart, J. Sidlow Baxter

The Royal Visit

In his devotional book, Awake, My Heart, J. Sidlow Baxter shared the
following anecdote:

In 1934, a British magazine told the story of young Prince Edward and a
visit he made to a small hospital where thirty-six hopelessly injured and
disfigured veterans of the First World War were tended. He stopped at each
cot, shook hands with each veteran, and spoke words of encouragement. He
was conducted to the exit but observed that he had only met twenty-nine men.
At that point he questioned those present, "I understood you had thirty-six
patients here. I have only seen twenty-nine."

The head nurse explained that the other seven were so shockingly disfigured,
that for the sake of his own feelings, he had not been taken to see them.
The prince insisted that he must see them. He spoke to each of them and
thanked them for the great sacrifice they had made and assured each that it
would never be forgotten.

Then he turned to the head nurse and said, "There are only six men. Where is
the seventh?" He was informed that no one was allowed to see him. Blind,
maimed, dismembered, the most hideously disfigured of them all, he was
isolated in a room where he would never leave alive. The nurse said to the
Prince, "Please don't ask to see him." But the Prince could not be
dissuaded.

The nurse reluctantly led him into a darkened room. The royal visitor stood
there with white face and drawn lips, looking down at what had once been a
fine man, but now was a horror. Then the tears broke out, and with lovely
impulse, the prince bent down and reverently kissed the cheeks of that
broken war hero. *

Sidlow made this apt application: "There is one who has stooped far, far
lower, to kiss a far, far worse ugliness - not the physical disfigurement of
a broken hero whose brokenness called forth reverent gratitude, but the
leprous, evil ugliness of corrupt sinners and hard rebels against infinite
love!"

The One who "stooped" so far to demonstrate such undeserved love was Jesus
Christ, the Son of God. "For when we were still without strength, in due
time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one
die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God
demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us." - Romans 5:6-8

God will save and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust
in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts
17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized
(immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will
continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His
Word (1 John 1:7-9).

Because of His love for us, Jesus "stooped" low through His incarnation and
crucifixion, so that you and I can be raised up to enjoy eternal blessings
"in the heavenly places" in Christ (Ephesians 2:1-10).

-- David A. Sargent

* As cited in www.ministry127.com