I heard about a 4-year-old at a wedding ceremony. He was fussin’ and fidgetin’ and just about to explode. A family member thought perhaps she could calm him down if she gave him something to play with. She reached in her purse and handed him the first thing she could find – her rosary. It was the kind that had a crucifix attached to it. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but almost as quickly as he had it in his hands, he stood up on the front pew and swung it over his head like a lasso and shouted, “Hang on Jesus! You’re going for a ride.”

Hang on – you’re going for a ride. You’ve probably heard those words before. They are spoken  in situations where the circumstances can be thrilling: on a roller coaster, on the back of a horse or a motorcycle, maybe in a Jeep going up a mountain trail. But have you ever heard them applied to Jesus? Maybe that little four-year-old was on to something. “Hang on Jesus! You’re going for a ride.”

From the glory of heaven into the womb of a virgin named Mary…down the dirt road from Nazareth to Bethlehem in utero…down the birth canal and into a stable, into the arms of Mary and Joseph, to be laid in a cattle trough…down the road to Egypt to escape being murdered by a jealous King Herod. Hang on Jesus, you’re going for a ride!

Back to Bethlehem and Nazareth to be raised…going all around the Sea of Galilee, healing and teaching and loving and serving…up a Mount of Transfiguration where His glory would be seen by Peter, James and John…on to Jerusalem on a donkey, hearing the hosannas of the crowd…to the Upper Room, celebrating Passover with his disciples, one of whom would betray Him…instituting a meal of remembrance and promise…in prayer in a Garden, sweat like drops of blood…and then a kiss of betrayal. Hang on Jesus, you’re going for a ride!

 Led to the Jewish courts, where Peter would deny even knowing him…led before Pilate to be mocked and whipped and ridiculed…led before Herod for more of the same…taken before Pilate again and hearing the shouts “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” and then beaten some more…His disciples all abandoned him. The Savior whose birth had been announced by angels now stands all alone. Hang on Jesus, you’re going for a ride!

 To Calvary, carrying His cross yet bearing my sin, and yours and the sins of all people…on a cross, outside Jerusalem, raised up for all to see…My God, My God, why have you forsaken me! Hang on Jesus! Don’t come down from the cross. Hang on, pay my debt. Hang on for me!

 And then it was finished…lifeless, taken down from the cross…carried by his friends and placed in a tomb that was sealed up for good. But wait…the ride wasn’t over. On that third day, what a ride! Bursting out of the tomb, alive, shining with His glory as God, showing Himself to His disciples…down the road to Emmaus creating burning hearts…through closed doors, to frightened and doubting disciples. He says, “Peace be to you!” After forty days of showing Himself, He goes up the Mount of Ascension, through the clouds to the right hand of the Father. What a Ride! And the disciples were told, “Don’t stand there looking up into the sky. He’ll be back. He’s coming again.” What a ride!

Our ride through this life can be pretty intense. Sometimes it is exhilarating, the next moment terrifying and devastating. Often times the things that get us into the most trouble and that hurt us the most are things that we have done to ourselves by our own choosing. We make bad decisions, going where we should not go and doing what we should not do. Your ride through this life can be very rough. At times, you may feel as though you cannot hold on. Critics will pound on you. Enemies seem to surround and overwhelm you. Life can be brutal. That is when you need to hang on. Hang on to Jesus. Hang on to God’s promises. Hang on to the one who hung onto that cross for you. Jesus has done everything you need to be forgiven and have the confidence of God being on your side, loving you, saving you, and wanting the best for you now and for all eternity.

Hang on to Jesus. As you hold onto Him, remember that He holds on to you. It is not your own determination that will keep you safe. It is Jesus hanging on to you. He said that to His first disciples:

John 10:27-30 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

 Jesus will hang on to you. He went on quite a ride to earn your forgiveness. All the way from “For Unto You is born this day a Savior” to “He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!” and beyond that to “He is coming again!”  This one is the one who wants to go with you on your ride through this life.

“Hang on – You’re going for a ride.” Jesus wants you to know that He went through that ride for you. He will hang on to you and be with you every step of the way in your ride through this life. And what a ride it will be!