The Word of God – “All ate the same spiritual bread and drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them; and that rock was Christ himself.” 1 Corinthians 10: 3-4

Hanging in the living room of my childhood home was a large painting titled “Rock of Ages.” My grandparents had received it as a wedding gift in 1903. The painting depicts a very small island the size of a large rock amidst the rolling seas. Jutting up from the backside of this rock is a rock-shaped cross. And kneeling at the foot of the cross is a woman in prayer. Verse three of that favorite hymn so beautifully states, “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling.”

Helpless and lowly, we come to the foot of the cross seeking forgiveness and mercy. When we feel like we are on a tiny island with the billowing seas around us, we can be reassured that Jesus will calm the waters. Jesus is our “Rock of Ages.”

There is also something very unique about the above-mentioned painting. It is not painted on canvas or paper but on the reverse side of the glass. Should it ever fall, it would be broken in pieces – rather like our lives without Jesus. The painting now proudly hangs in the home of my daughter.

Prayer: O Lord, we thank you for taking our sins upon you and dying on that cruel cross so that we may one day be given the gift of eternal life. Amen.

Myrtis Dufresne
Lutheran Church of the Risen Savior
Green Valley, Arizona