Finding Life

 

Matthew 16: 24-28 

 Take Up Your Cross

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

²⁸ “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

We pray today over the great paradox of losing life in order to find it, a total contradiction to the doctrine of "the good life" proposed by today's culture.  Happiness and fulfillment do not come with money, things, power, popularity, comfort, or doing things "my way", but in dying to self, greed, comfort and control.   Yes, what if someone gain the whole world but suffer the loss of his or her soul, what good is that?  We need to be on guard constantly against the temptation to fall into or choose things that contradict the power of the cross, of self-denial or self abnegation. Not a popular stance, but one which stems from these words of Jesus and has withstood the test of time. These words of Jesus are as relevant today as when he spoke them, perhaps even more so now. Let us heed them and fashion our lives according to them.

Bro. Rene

Dear Jesus, taking up my cross and following is is the way to true happiness. Help me embrace my cross and find life and what I am looking for in it. Amen.