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Taking Up Our Crosses

             Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. (Luke 9:23-24)

            “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:37-38)

 

            Today’s passages may seem a little extreme. Are we supposed to hate our parents or our own lives?  Is the only way we can be His disciple to go live in a cave or a monastery where every thought and deed is focused on Him all day? Before we start looking at the concept more seriously, what if it did? Is God worth that? I suspect everyone (including me) is hearing a “Now wait a minute!” somewhere in their minds. God gave us our families and may have called us into our jobs. We’re supposed to love our neighbors as ourselves.  And didn’t the monks and nuns have work to do beyond sitting in spiritual revery 24/7? He did. They did. But just for a moment, what if?

            Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the direction required. Instead, what seems to be required is that when it comes to a conflict between God and something else, we at least need to talk to God about it and do as He advises.

            As I searched for the Matthew passage, I noticed something I knew but never noticed as a parallel. Whenever the Bible talks about marriage, it says that the man shall leave his mother and father and be united to his wife. There doesn’t seem to have ever been a question about the woman leaving her mother and father and being united to her husband. Still, the point is that what Jesus is describing isn’t something new, radical, or even unusual. He’s describing a marriage relationship with us.

            But… the meddling mother-in-law. Need I say more? It’s the stuff of sitcoms. The wife who has never quite left home and made her husband the relational focus of life. We could just as easily mention that special TV show. You know the one. “If anyone interrupts me while my show is on….”  And let’s not forget the job/career.  If we’re honest, many things come between us and people or things that should be our priorities – it doesn’t just happen with our relationship with Jesus. And these aren’t the priorities that someone else says we should have. These are the priorities we claim we have.

            If I’m seeking Jesus or claiming to love Jesus, what do I allow to get in my way? Am I willing to obey even to the point of carrying with me the thing that others can use to kill me or give others reason to want to do so  - my cross? 

 

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