the most accessible and precious spot, by Octavius Winslow.

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother. Take your place with Mary, near to the cross of Jesus. There meet and blend suffering and love, sorrow and sympathy. Standing in faith near the cross, you are near the suffering Savior, the loving Son. the sympathizing brother born for your present grief.

Jesus, in the depth and tenderness of His love, is at this moment all that He was when, in soul travail, He cast that ineffable look of filial love and sympathy upon His anguished mother. Likewise, He can enter into your circumstances, understand your grief, and sustain and soothe your spirit, as one only can who has partaken of the cup of woe which now trembles in your hand. Drink that cup, submissive to His will, for He drank deeply of it before you and has left the fragrance of His sympathy upon its brim.

Your sorrow is not new to Christ. Stand close to the cross of Jesus. It is the most accessible and precious spot on this side of heaven, the most solemn and awesome spot on this side of eternity. The cross of Jesus is the focus of divine love, divine sympathy, and divine power. Stand by it in suffering, in persecution, and in temptation. Stand by it in the brightness of prosperity and in the gloom of adversity. Go to Christ's cross in trouble, repair to it in weakness, cling to it in danger, and hide beneath it when the wintry storm rushes fiercely over you.

Near to the cross, you are near your Father's heart and your Savior's side. You seem to enter the gate of heaven, to stand beneath the vestibule of glory. Nothing but love will welcome your approach to the cross of Jesus. Divine love that pardons all your sins, flows over all your unworthiness, heals all your soul wounds, soothes all your sorrows, and will shelter you within its blessed pavilion until earth is exchanged for heaven and you lay down the warrior's sword for the victor's palm. and spring from the foot of the cross to the foot of the throne to be forever with your precious Lord.