Matthew 16: 21-27
Jesus Predicts His Death
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
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.
As contradictory as it may sound, the cross, the infamous instrument of death in the time of Jesus, is the means to life, spiritual life today, Jesus clearly states that it we wish to be his followers, we must take up our cross and follow him, and that in losing life, we will find it. Yes, what good is there in gaining the whole world, and losing our souls? Some of us bear small crosses, the aches, pains, and slow debilitations of old age, for example; others bear heavier crosses: the range of illnesses that fill our hospitals and nursing homes; the sudden loss of a spouse or child, or the loss of a job. Instead of yielding to discouragement or despair, we can use these trials as a means of taking these words of Jesus literally and finding life in the the crosses we bear. May we be disciples who are willing to carry our cross as Jesus did.
Bro. Rene
Dear Jesus, you willingly accepted your cross; help me to be as willing to accept and carry mine. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment