Take Up Your Cross And Follow Me

Wednesday June 8, 2022

We say we want to be followers of Jesus and have turned our will and our life over to His care. It all sounds good when we are hurting and need the healing and forgiveness that God promises us when we repent of our sin and destructive life habits, come to God, and ask for the new life He has promised through Jesus.

But then Jesus says something challenging like: 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 and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? (Mark 8:34-36 NIV)

We thought we were coming to God to get a new life and now He’s telling us to lose our life? How can that be good for us? What does He mean?

We tell ourselves often in the program that we need to “give it away in order to keep it.” In Step 12 we are taught, “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”

All of these things remind us that just looking out for our own interests is a selfish and life diminishing way of existence. We were created for supportive and caring relationships. Love always costs something. A parent denies themselves the comfort of a good night’s sleep in order to comfort and care for a crying baby. Many folks have worked hard to support us as we came ragged and raw into recovery with a desire to grow and change. We were not always easy to get along with and yet they denied themselves any judgment of our actions and stuck with us.

God’s way of life, demonstrated in the action of Jesus laying down His life for us on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, is to find out what God has in mind for us today, and then do it no matter how inconvenient it may be. This is how we deny our old way of life and gain a life that is everlasting.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I could so easily ask for the softer, easier way of life, but I know I no longer desire it to exist for me anymore. Give me the strength each day to turn from self-centered ways and to seek Your way of love and sacrifice in all my affairs. Amen

More information on this and other related topics @ http://www.partnersinhope.ca/life-with-god-in-recovery-resources/

Take Up Your Cross And Follow Me

Audio for Take Up Your Cross And Follow Me

Recent Meditations

DON’T WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW

WHAT DOES JESUS’ DEATH HAVE TO DO WITH ADDICTION?

CARRYING THE MESSAGE BY ACTING WISELY

INSECURITY

THE HIDDEN KINDNESS OF GOD

Giving Hope