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Take Up Our Crosses

             Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 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? (Matthew 16:24-26)

Back in Jesus’ day, teachers usually picked disciples when they were about 8-12 years old. They were supposed to be the brightest of the brightest, but they spent many years as little better than a slave. They learned what their teacher told them to learn, did what he said to do, and loved and hated who and what he loved and hated. If the disciple didn’t, he could be fired. In a sense, any teacher's disciple had to take up the burden of his master.

In Jesus’ case, the burden He described above was the means of their own execution, but even this wasn’t that unusual. Zealots and soldiers generally speak of being ready to die for their cause, nation, or king/leader.

Even the promise of life being found or souls being kept aren’t unusual. Why bother if there’s nothing to gain by following a teacher and enduring the associated lifestyle? At the very least, the disciple must believe that his teacher holds the keys to the truth, which the disciple will gain. None of what Jesus said was shocking to those who heard it.

It shouldn’t be shocking to us, either. There’s not much we can do that doesn’t involve this exchange of some measure of ourselves to gain something better. Admittedly, the stakes are higher when Jesus is involved, but isn’t that as it should be? If George Lucas or Bill Gates offered to hire you and train you in his specialty, wouldn’t you expect more to be demanded of you than if I hired you and trained you?

And what Jesus said being true more generally does nothing to diminish its truth in His case. The question then remains, are we ready to set aside the world, our lives, or our “lives” to keep our souls and follow Him?

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