Following Jesus: Finding Your Cross

"Take up your cross and follow me." We've heard this saying so many times that it sometimes loses its effect. And we all nod, thinking we know exactly what it means. But I wonder... do we? This morning as I re-read the familiar verses, I felt a sense that I had never truly understood it before. I heard a more personalized call, to find "my" cross instead of a generic call that all disciples should follow Jesus. In the call to self-denial, this morning I heard a call to self and servitude to Jesus at the same time.

The Self

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? ~Luke 9:23-25

Yes, this is the part that struck me. Instead of a generic call to take up "the" cross, which would have the same meaning to everyone, I heard a call to each disciple to individually take up "their" cross. Before I had always read it in the generic sense... take up 'the' cross... take up Jesus' work... spread the good news... work for the church. These are all good things, no doubt. But when I heard this morning a call that I should not "forfeit my very self" and to take up "my" cross, it struck me that "my" cross is the ministry God is calling me to do in the world. It is not the same as everyone else, but it is the work God asks me to do.

At home we have a saying on the wall that always struck me... "What gifts God has given me is His gift to me. What I do with those talents is my gift to God." God made many varied talented people... just as in the body metaphor, some are meant for welcoming/greeting, others are meant for singing/playing music, others are meant to be worship leaders, others are meant to build community, and many many more. Some are meant for leading Bible Studies, others are meant to add important insights during that Bible Study time. With such a beautiful variety of children, God would not give us all one and the same cross... it stands to reason that our crosses would be different.

All challenging crosses, all something that we take up and work for daily, but individualized to uniquely fit the gifts, talents and passion of each self. This is reflective of the many beautiful and unique ministries that have been driven by strong Christians who felt a connection between the inner spiritual life and outer ministry in the world.

"This sense of connection between inner growth and outer change permeates the Christian understanding of reality. St. Paul was an activist of the first order. Every time he entered a new place he created major disruptions, but his activism was the fruit of the relationship he enjoyed with the living Christ. The great hymns of praise that seem to burst out in epistle after epistle are a testimony to the reality of this relationship. The ministries of Mother Teresa in the slums of Calcutta or of Martin Luther King in the streets of Montgomery, or of the countless people whose faith has touched your life and mine and indeed has affected the life of the world are expressions of lived prayer. These people went deep enough in prayer to embrace life with some degree of abandon. These inner experiences literally drove them in ministry to others." ~Henri J. M. Nouwen from "A Cry for Mercy"

Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, each found their cross. Mother Teresa herself was quoted as urging individuals to "find their own Calcutta." I wonder if this is not much different from "finding your own cross." Find the cross that God calls you to take up daily- whether that is creating an after school program at your church, developing a new young couples' ministry, starting up a Meals on Wheels program for shut ins. Pray that God would guide you to find your cross. Take it up daily, and follow Him in the way that you are meant to follow Him. You may have heard it said that your mission is "where your passions meet the world's greatest need." Well, I suggest that might be exactly what Jesus is talking about when he asks you to take up your cross.

The Lord

²⁶ Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

²⁷ “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.” ~Luke 9:26-27

But we cannot let it become only about ourselves and totally separate from the Lord. If that happens, we may never make it. Our works, our lives, our beings should not proclaim our goodness, but that of the Lord. In today's society is very popular to do "volunteer service." In fact, it's become a fad in education. Let's get them doing volunteer work. Now, that's not bad in and of itself, but I do suggest that there's a problem when kids are taught this pattern of doing good work in order to put it on their resume, doing good in order to get a better grade in a class or become class president. Instead, in church, we should look to Jesus... who did good works and then asked the individuals to tell no one. I remember the days when we would gather on a Sunday morning at church to wash cars and invite people to church on Sunday. There was no putting that on a resume. We only gave glory to God, showing that His love can motivate "lazy teenagers" to get out of bed and wash cars for free, for nothing, nada, zip... only for Him and His glory. While it is true that youth do need to earn money for youth conferences, I wonder whether we have given up on this important lesson... the importance of giving, without return.

When you do something and take the credit, it may be sweet. But when the Lord has His hand in the work, it is so much sweeter. We should always be ready to talk about His work in our lives, our professions, our families, our crosses.

I have always been one to have big dreams. And one of my biggest is perhaps the most improbable. I fell in love with the Educacion y Esperanza (Education & Hope) program in Guatemala the very first time I went down there, and I dream that some day I could work in building a similar program in the many places of the world where it could help so much. Maybe working in Haiti? Maybe working in the DR? Somewhere where I could do a little to bring about a little more hope. The most improbable, but God loves improbable. With God, all this are possible. Call Him into your lives... pray about your cross, and He will make the impossible possible.