On A Hill Far Away
I was in line at a theme park and there was a guy in front of me and on the back of his shirt it read;
“I never said that” - Jesus
I laughed out loud and had to compliment him for the best use of T-Shirt Realestate I’ve seen in a long time.
Misrepresentation has done more to keep me away from the church than any vice or sin ever has. Growing up hearing things like: “God helps those who help themselves” - imagine Jesus turning to the thief on the cross who was asking about Heaven and answering him with that nugget. Or Jesus proclaiming, “Remember, cleanliness is next to Godliness” as he walks through a Leper colony.
The symbolism of the cross has always had a simular effect on me. The places I’ve seen it displayed and the causes it’s purported to champion always seemed to be soliciting me for some purpose or movement quite different than what I see in the Bible. And because the cross is displayed, I am to assume it has earned God’s endorcement - as though a voice is behind it saying, “I’m Jesus and I approve this message”.
The cross has been tattooed, silkscreened, engraved, molded, etched and carved into and onto practically every earthly substance. And growing up you could say that I was inoculated from its dreadful purpose. When I began to ponder its meaning guided by scripture, everything changed. It became clear to me that it only had one purpose; death. The brutal truth was ugly and horrific. I was realy hoping to have ended up with a different picture; maybe set on a grassy knoll with flowers at its base, sunbeams streaming through the clouds, ahhh, yes … a Bob Ross painting. But instead what I got was “The Scream” by Edvard Munch.
As it turns out, this figure of morbidity was the perfect instrument of judgement for the perfect innocent Lamb of God. It’s timber, strong enough to bare the weight Jesus was carrying, yet soft enough to recieve the spikes that held him there. It is the unwelcome reminder looming over our daily denial of existential certainty - soft in its merciful delay, yet strong in its persistent truth about the debt of worship we must settle with God.
The point is, God selected a sin flawed frame to display the most beautiful picture of love ever beheld. Paint it, polish it, shellac it, we can not improve on its perfect mess. Mercy’s cry went out from this place; a blood stained cross, and it is there where it is most clearly seen. It’s no wonder half my life I saw Christianity as a fraud. Essentially, what I was looking at was. To present it in wordly prosperity is an atempt to drive its spikes into a gold and silver cross; watch the sharp points of the Gospel dull until the blunted ends just bouce off. Present it in Religiosity, and you are nailing those same spikes into a fragile cross of stained glass; watch the shards of “good deeds” fall in a thousand pieces. But simply show what you saw when it finally reached you and broke your heart, and that is a picture of God’s grace. The only true love beyong man’s reach would be the only love to truly reach him.
On A Hill Far Away
[Vrs 1]
I’ve seen it on the Southern Plains On steeples and on graves I’ve seen it in graffiti on a subway train Crosses everywhere
[Vrs ] I’ve seen it in a neon sign Across the bar after closing time Staring at it until the sunrise Wondering about my life
[Chorus] Oh, I never knew what love looked like Until I saw it shining from your eyes Against the cold grey sky That day on Calvary
Oh, it breakes my heart to see the pain Love so pure taking my place On a hill far away The old rugged cross Was the one that saved me
[Vrs 3]
I’ve seen it on the TV screen Bumper stickers and gold key chains Behind the band on a big church stage With bright lights and fog machines
[Vrs 4]
I’ve seen it forged in shields and blades Lead the battle of the Great Crusades And it always gets louder near Election Day Although their promises fade [to Chorus]
[Bridge]
Your grace stands alone Far from anything I’ve known Lifted high so far above my reach Would be the one that reached me [to Chorus]
(Words & Music by Daniel Applegate, Copyright c 2025 Plan Z Music Publishing (ASCAP)