The Beauty of the Cross

I was at the prayerhouse on Monday, reflecting quietly and expressing my desire to give my whole heart and life to Jesus in a much deeper way. I truly want to be a follower – with my whole life. Luke 9:23 is exactly what I’m talking about.

To be a disciple of Christ is to deny myself and take up my cross DAILY. To deny myself means to stop making myself (my expectations, plans, thoughts) the object of my life and my actions. To see loving God as my whole purpose for living, not getting my way.

So what is the cross in my life? – Selfishness. I need to hang on the cross, just as Jesus did, and die to my selfishness. My self-focus, self-concern, and self-as-god must be nailed to the cross (i.e. anger, impatience, laziness, etc).

So, to imitate someone is to walk in His shoes. Jesus willingly went to the cross. He willingly let the soldiers lead him away, willingly allowed the beating, and then willingly allowed them to nail him to the cross. If I desire to follow Him, I must go willingly, and I do! But who will nail me? He did not (could not) nail Himself to the cross, someone else had to do it. Who will nail me? The answer is so obvious it’s almost humorous – My kids, Edward, anyone who irks me, etc.

So each time I am confronted with a situation where I must choose either to love (with patience, gentleness, kindness, compassion, and a calm demeanor) or to foster my selfishness (with anger, shouting, frowning, harsh words, and a condescending tone) I am nailed to the cross. The choice I am given is whether to stay up there or to come down.

Jesus could have come down at anytime. He had the power. All He had to do was change His mind and give up – cry out to His Father that He was done. But, out of love for His Father, He chose to stay up on the cross. That is my work – I must CHOOSE to stay up there. That is my work – I must forgive immediately and with joy; correct with a loving, compassionate, understanding; be more concerned with the welfare of the person before me than I am about myself (what I deserve). ONLY THEN can "self" be crucified.

This choice can only be made in His strength and power. I must be STEEPED in His presence to have the strength to stay! I have consciously chosen this twice this week! I physically put my hands out and said aloud, “I am staying up here! I am choosing to stay nailed to the cross and NOT yell. I am choosing love.” And then I continued to handle the situation (a negative attitude from my children) in a loving way. They all thought I had lost my mind! But at least I didn’t lose my temper!

This revelation has been a great encouragement to me and my walk toward gentleness, and our home has been more full of joy and peace as a result.

God is GREAT! I choose to pick up my cross daily and follow Him who loves me!