A Call to Suffering
Luke 9:23,24 Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you every day for following me. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will save it.
Do you know what most of us want? We want to be healthy, wealthy and wise; to live a good, long, comfortable life devoid of conflict and filled with love; a good job without too much pressure; a good boss; great relationships. That’s all, really.
I strongly suspect that if you thought about it, those are the things that you’d want in your life too. The good life. But then, Jesus walks in and says to those of us who aspire to being His followers, His disciples …
Luke 9:23,24 Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you every day for following me. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will save it.
What marketing guru gave Him that stunning little piece of advice? I mean, if you wanted to kick off some new God-movement thing, for goodness sakes, get a decent advertising agency. Craft your message to fit the market you’re aiming at. Put some spin on this thing. Get the numbers up, get the money rolling in and then, if you really have to sell this suffering thing, do it softly, softly.
That’s the way I’m guessing we’d see it these days. And indeed, that’s the way many so-called Christians approach their faith.
It’s fine, as long as it fits in with my lifestyle, my needs and wants, my hopes and dreams.
Come on, what sort of loving God would call you to embrace a life of sacrifice and suffering? What sort of fool would run a pitch like that? Answer
Jesus. The suffering God who came to help us be all that He made us to be. Jesus.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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