Reflection: "Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me"As we think of Christ's act of salvation on the cross of Calvary, we’re called to do a reality check on our Christian lives and be challenged to look at our lives through the lens of God's values.
We pause & reflect on God's will for our lives. Mark 8:31-38 tells us that Jesus was teaching his disciples about a Messiah who had to suffer and understandably, the disciples thought that Jesus had lost his mind. Peter's protest expressed the sentiments and hopes not only of the disciples, but of the entire nation of Israel. "Come on, Jesus, you've got all the power in the world. What do you mean.......suffer!?" When Jesus spoke of the suffering and death of the Messiah, his disciples couldn’t believe what they were hearing. During their lives they had connected the Messiah with a power-figure who would save God's people from their oppressors, therefore, the idea of a suffering Messiah just didn’t make any sense to them. Jesus became rather abrupt when Peter tried to “talk some sense" into him, as Jesus recognized the voice of the tempter, Satan, who had come to him in the dessert. Jesus obviously didn’t want to have to suffer and die and he knew that he possessed the strength and power from God to bring down the angelic hosts and destroy Israel's enemies once for all, if he chose to. But in the concerned words of his friend Peter, Jesus recognized the devil’s temptations and he refused to give in. Isn't it interesting how the devil tries to persuade us through the words of a well-meaning friend to “play it safe.” Sometimes, an opportunity for Christian service, or an opportunity to stand up for justice and peace, comes our way. In our hearts we’re absolutely convinced that this is from God and he’s calling us to obey his will. We know that it may cost us a lot in terms of "losing" some of the comforts that we’ve grown used to, however, we’re at peace with our decision, knowing that it is God's will. But as we share our decision with family and friends, they seem to raise one red flag after another. Satan is very clever and without our knowledge, he uses the people who are closest to us to break our spirits and our obedience to God. In our "clean and neat" westernized Christian culture it almost sounds like an oxymoron to listen to Jesus say that we must give up everything to follow him. Our culture screams at us: "You must promote yourself and push aside as many as you can on your way up the success ladder”. The apostle Paul, however, says "It is no longer I that lives, but Christ who lives in me." Self-denial doesn't imply a poor self-image that says, "Poor me - I'm a nobody." Self-denial, in the Christian sense, implies knowing exactly who we are in relationship to God - the King of the universe and we are his servants, the children of God. We have everything to gain by denying ourselves. Christ's challenge goes on: "Take up your cross." Now in Jesus' day, to carry a cross was more than just a personal hardship, or some aches and pains that the chiropractor can't help you with. The cross was the method of executing criminals - and so Christ is saying that his followers must be willing to suffer as criminals - for his name's sake. How does that sound for an incentive to follow Jesus, in a day and age where we work as hard as we can in our early years, just so that we can kick up our legs and relax in our retirement years? Jesus promises no instant gratification, but rather long-term hardship – all in the hope of eternal salvation. We may ask why? Why does Jesus make things so hard and complicated for us? We find the answer in verse 36 where Jesus says, “For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Or, in other words, spend your life for God and you will live. We’re often tempted to fall down and worship the deceiver for a little bit of instant gratification. Sometimes we may be tempted to sacrifice our honour for personal gain and profit, putting a higher value on material things, rather than spiritual growth and integrity, or even be tempted to sacrifice our moral principles in exchange for popularity. We can save ourselves a lot of trouble if we always agree with everyone on controversial issues. But let’s keep in mind that the question should not be: "What are the people going to think of me?" but "What does God think of me?" It’s not the verdict of public opinion, but the verdict of God, that will determine our final destiny. We may be tempted to lower our standards and to settle for cheap rewards as long as we don't have to work too hard to earn them. We find it too time-consuming and too much of a hassle to get involved in social, political, and even congregational matters. It's easier to keep our noses out of it and live with the decisions that others make for us - so we sacrifice the best that could be, for a cheap substitute.We’re also often tempted to sacrifice eternity for the moment. There are many things in life that offer pleasure and success instantly, but that ruin our vision for eternity. Our real test in life is to seek the things that are from God. Our greatest mission in life is to have God's things in mind. ...to check ourselves against the life of the suffering Christ and measure our lives according to God's will. When we look out for “number one” (ourselves), we risk leaving God out of our lives, to the point of cutting ourselves off entirely from the grace of God. Jesus spells out the full extent of the price that we have to pay if we want to be his disciples. Jesus came, not to offer us an easy life, but to teach us the way to God and in so doing, he never expects anything from his followers that he isn't willing to do himself. He took up his cross and was crucified as a criminal. Therefore, if we choose to follow Jesus in our lives, we must forever deny the pressures of the outside world and ask him to rule our every thought and action. God gave us LIFE in and through Jesus Christ, so that we may offer it up to him as a living sacrifice. The question that each one of us has to answer before God is: Whose values are we representing? God's or our own? Whose agenda are we following in our lives? What matters the most to us? The Lent season is a time in which we’re encouraged to evaluate our lives in light of God's reconciling love for us. Jesus Christ spent his life so that we may live. God's intervention in our lives requires a response from each of us. We must consider what God has done for us, the cost of discipleship - and we must decide how we should live. Lent is a good time to bring your life back in order with God, and to ask him to renew your life for him. If you hear God’s voice (maybe when you’re in prayer), don’t harden your heart, but consider what Christ has done for you and make the decision to give your life wholly to him. That’s the Lent way of living. Blessings……………Pastor Rick
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