I walked one day along a country road, And there a stranger journeyed too, Bent low beneath the burden of His load: It was a cross, a cross I knew.
Refrain: “Take up thy cross and follow Me,” I hear the blessed Savior call; How can I make a lesser sacrifice, When Jesus gave His all?
I cried, “Lord Jesus,” and He spoke my name; I saw His hands all bruised and torn; I stooped to kiss away the marks of shame, The shame for me that He had borne.
“Oh, let me bear Thy cross, dear Lord,” I cried, And, lo, a cross for me appeared, The one, forgotten, I had cast aside, The one, so long, that I had feared.
My cross I’ll carry till the crown appears— The way I journey soon will end— Where God Himself shall wipe away all tears, And friend hold fellowship with friend.
