"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
Luke 9:23
Sometimes we think that following God should guarantee a good life... a peaceful life, free of searing pain or desperate need. We think that if God truly loved us, he wouldn't let bad things happen to us. And yet, Christ is talking about us coming after him... following him. He lived a perfect life, and it certainly wasn't without pain or grief. We're asked to deny ourselves, to take up our cross. That doesn't sound like the cushy life of luxury I was hoping for.
And yet, it is a life of meaning, of learning, of selflessness that we also claim to want, and God definitely offers us that. If some of it we can't learn another way than grief, or pain, then maybe those are things that we need to go through. Certainly in hindsight we see how much we have gained through our experiences. It is just frequently hard to see during them.
Today, let's remember that the life the Lord offers us is always a good one... just not a pain-free one. Let's be willing to deny ourselves. Let's be willing to take up our cross. Let's be willing to follow Christ.
Luke 9:23
Sometimes we think that following God should guarantee a good life... a peaceful life, free of searing pain or desperate need. We think that if God truly loved us, he wouldn't let bad things happen to us. And yet, Christ is talking about us coming after him... following him. He lived a perfect life, and it certainly wasn't without pain or grief. We're asked to deny ourselves, to take up our cross. That doesn't sound like the cushy life of luxury I was hoping for.
And yet, it is a life of meaning, of learning, of selflessness that we also claim to want, and God definitely offers us that. If some of it we can't learn another way than grief, or pain, then maybe those are things that we need to go through. Certainly in hindsight we see how much we have gained through our experiences. It is just frequently hard to see during them.
Today, let's remember that the life the Lord offers us is always a good one... just not a pain-free one. Let's be willing to deny ourselves. Let's be willing to take up our cross. Let's be willing to follow Christ.
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