The Stand

For those of you who don't know where the title of my blog comes from...it is from the song "The Stand."  It is definitely one of my favorite worship songs and almost every time that it gets to the bridge that the title of my blog comes from I am almost in tears.  It convicts me every time we sing it in the youth group and it just breaks me down.  "And I'll stand, with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe of the one who gave it all."  Jesus truly gave it all for us.  He gave His life for us.  He came down to this wicked world and took the form of one of our wretched human bodies.  He was tempted just as we were, yet He never sinned.  He was killed by his enemies even though He did nothing wrong.  But the glorious part is that He rose again.  His perfect sacrifice, His perfect blood, was the only way that we, evil people that we are, are able to spend eternity in Heaven with Him if we accept this grace He bestowed upon us.  Yet, even after some of us have accepted this perfect grace, we do not continually change our hearts and our lives to live like we have been saved.  We return to our selfish desires.  We do not live with arms lifted high and our hearts abandoned to the ways of the world completely focused on the one who saved us by giving it all.  This song continually reminds me of this sacrifice and my continual lack of daily committment.  Let us all be reminded of this grace and let us all live with arms high and hearts abandoned each and every moment, remembering that the things of this world are temporary and what really matters is eternity.
Here are the lyrics to the song:

You stood before creation
Eternity within Your hand
You spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand

You stood before my failure
Carried the Cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon Your shoulders
My soul now to stand

So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You

So I'll walk upon salvation
Your Spirit alive in me
This life to declare Your promise
My soul now to stand

So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You

So I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all

So I'll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours