A Lenten Reflection
Taking up your cross
One of today's Lenten Scripture readings for the Gospel was the following:
"Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
Then he said to all,
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?” Luke 9:22-25
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?” Luke 9:22-25
Jesus knew the fate He was journeying towards on the road to Jerusalem for that last Passover with His Disciples; He was aware of the literal Roman cross that awaited Him, the betrayal, the death and that He would be raised on the third day. He knew of the pain to come, and yet walked onward, for glory of the Father and the redemption of the lost.
How He must have valued us then (as He does now) to have kept taking step after step along those dusty, ancient roads!
The dread of something can be almost as bad as the experience itself; and while we know Jesus would ask His Father in the garden if there was anyway for the cup to be taken from Him (showing a dread of what was to come)...we also see Him bending Himself to the will of His Father and going willingly to bear the cross that awaited.
How often do we take up willingly the trials and burdens in our lives....and how often do we try and avoid them?
Christ tells us in the passage above that we will have to take up our crosses and follow Him, and if we should lose our lives for His sake, then we shall save our eternal lives. But if we play it safe, if we avoid the cross in order to preserve our lives in the state in which we want to live, we will lose the life that truly matters....the life to come.
Some of us, in the Christian family, will be called literally to take up our crosses and lose our lives for the Lord. How many are martyred around the world in the name of Christ? How many are prisoners in political jails because they will not refute His name?
We forget, often, here in the West the dangers that come with belonging to Jesus. Christianity is the most persecuted faith in the world. 11 Christians, on average, die every hour for their faith, and it is increasing. (Links below post) In many places in the world, to chose to follow Jesus, to become His Disciple, is to literally put your freedom and your life at stake; and people do so. The call, love and message of the Gospel is so powerful, the moving of the Holy Spirit is so great, that our brethren in those countries would rather face death than give Jesus up.
Their faith and lives humble me.
We are not in the position yet, here in the West, of facing any great persecution. We can live where we want (as long as we can afford it), we have schooling available, medical available, we can buy and trade freely for the most part, we can worship in gatherings in Churches and homes, and we can wear our Christian apparel. We're not being rounded up, locked up, tortured and killed because we own a Bible or wear a cross necklace.
And that security is lulling us to sleep.
We're closing our eyes to what is happening in the far reaches of our world, to our family. We're waiting on politicians to decide if matters are important enough for our government to intervene, instead of gathering in masses to protest, and flooding our "public servants" with so many cries for action that they can't ignore us. We think about getting involved, but you know...we're so busy with work, and the kids' sports, and movie night out with the girls or poker nights with the guys, and then, you know..our favorite tv show is on, and then the day is over. Maybe tomorrow...maybe tomorrow we'll have time to care.
And 11 more Christians die each hour while the "faithful" in the West go about their busy lives, and listen to music they shouldn't, read trashy books, watch tv shows that aren't fit for Christian consumption, and try and justify why we're spending money at the movies watching ungodly crap in the name of popular culture and self indulgence.
Harsh? Only if you're denying God's authority in your life by trying to be of the world and of God at the same time. You can't do it, you have to belong in one camp or another.
" Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life[a]—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." 1 John 2:15-17
"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters." Jesus, speaking in Matthew 12:30.
We in the Western world have our own crosses to bear, and we can bear them well for Jesus if we choose to do so. The first is being a deliberate, loving, godly Christian in our increasingly secular society. Doing so will cost you some worldly friends, it may cause you to be ridiculed, you may lose a promotion or even a job over it. True faith will cost you something; if you've never suffered or lost anything for the sake of Jesus, examine your faith and see how alive it is.
Paul says, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). True faith will cost you. There are no exceptions.
But if we face ridicule, persecution, and loss due to being faithful to Jesus, let us do so with grace and rejoicing. Christ did not bear His cross for us begrudgingly, so let us not moan and whine, be bitter and angry over what we do for Him. We act out of love for Jesus, and who wants to give with a stingy soul? If we do so, the gift is lessened. But if we bear our crosses with rejoicing, if we serve with a glad heart, then Christ is glorified through us.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Jesus speaking in Matthew 5:1-12
We have other crosses as well; each of us has something we struggle with or suffer from. (Sometimes multiple items.) Be it our own health, or being a caretaker to an ill loved one; we can do our duty, shouldering our cross, with a cheerful heart and a loving manner. Maybe you have a job that you don't like, but must be done; shoulder your cross and do it as though working for God. (Colossians 3:23-24) Maybe it is a habit, addiction or pattern of behavior you are struggling with; fight the battle to be free of the destructive issue, praying and trusting in Christ, and giving Him the glory for helping you through. We all have struggles, crosses, but if we choose to live for Christ, and to bear all things for His sake and to follow Him where He leads us, then His name in honored.
"Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me." Philippians 2: 14-18
We are all called to live a life for the Savior who redeemed us by His blood and love; we may not be called to literally lay down our lives like our brothers and sisters in the faith in far off lands, but we can still choose to bear whatever crosses are in our lives with the love we bear for Christ. We can pour out our lives before Him, in what we say, in what we do, in how we live.
And no matter how small, or great, your personal cross to bear is, remember that Christ Jesus, who suffered and bore our sins for us upon the Cross, will not let us suffer alone. He is with us in the storms, He guides us through the paths of this life, and will not forsake us, no matter how dark the night or great the trial.
If He can, and does, love us so deeply, will we not choose to live for Him?
On towards the Cross,
Links about Persecution and Christianity
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