I so enjoyed our services this morning, Lord! I am not surprised in the least, but I prayed for Your presence to be amongst us and You showed up! Praise Your name that You are with us individually and corporately!
Mark 8:34-38 (<<click to read the passage)
It is interesting how culture sees those who whole-heartedly follow Jesus. One perception is that we are weak and malleable. They see us as individuals needing a crutch, if you will, to get through the many struggles of life.
Opponents to Jesus often see themselves as being self-reliant and independent of anyone else’s assistance. They are strong in-and-of themselves. They can take care of themselves. They don’t need God or any of His trappings!
First of all, one blanket statement. That is flat out a lie of the devil! We need others and, most importantly, we need God. When it comes down to the reality of our lives, we are weak and incapable of taking care of ourselves. Much to our frustration, we are most definitely not infallible.
But what of this weakness of which we are accused? Jesus very clearly proclaimed in Matthew 8:35,
“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”
Right off the bat, it is extremely difficult to “give up our own way”. We want what we want when we want it and we will not be denied! “I will do it myself!” (Emphasized by a firmly stomped foot!) Just try convincing a young child or an aging parent otherwise and you will see a keen example of what I mean!
And, as I’ve stated before, we really have a very poor understanding of what it means to “take up our cross”. A footnote referencing Matthew 10:38 from the Amplified Bible brings some clarity to taking up our cross.
“The historical background behind this statement is that those who were about to be crucified had to carry the crossbeam to which they would be nailed or bound. In addition to the terrible agony that crucifixion inflicted, it was such a great indignity that some of the Roman writers used the word cross as a curse word in the expression “Go to a bad cross!” (Latin i in malam crucem).”
Jesus is talking about a horrifyingly brutal form of public execution that, He personally, was going to go through…and die from. He was most definitely not malleable. He was not weak. And if we truly take up our cross and follow Him with all that it means in our culture, neither are we.
To truly seek to follow in the footsteps of Jesus is hard work. It requires daily discipline to accomplish that feat! Any honest believer will make it abundantly clear that we fall…we fail…but as with pursuing anything worthwhile, we push forward. We do not give up. And Jesus is there through it all. Giving of Himself. Lifting us up. Interceding on our behalf… because only in Him, and His strength and in His love can we be the overcomers of this world that He knows we can be! We are strong in Him!
May 12th, 2019, Sun, 7:16 pm
