Week 27 Day 4
Finding God in the Mysteries of every day
Contact me at -larrymlawrence.com – email- lml125grn@outlook.com
Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
This poignant image should ever be in our minds as we consider this verse from Luke 9:23. We should not give in to the watered-down idea that taking up one’s cross is anything less than what we see here. If we truly take Jesus’ words to heart we are already condemned, we have been tried and found guilty of nothing less than loving God and obeying his commandments. We must in all of our weakness yet strive to be true sons of God, ready to die loving of the people we encounter even though they act as enemies. Matthew 5: 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
We dare not diminish, demean, or detract in any way that minimizes the horror and cruelty of the cross on which Jesus suffered and died. When we make a small sacrifice and say we are “carrying our cross” we reduce the whole life of Jesus to an historical footnote virtually nullifying the enormity of God’s love, His power, and His willingness to forgive.
The disciples understood this. It meant that they would be prepared to pay the ultimate price to follow Jesus. Perhaps in this day and age we should talk about taking up our lethal injection, or our hangman’s noose. or our electric chair. What about you?
Larry M Lawrence- Mysteries 