Covered in the Dust: Part IV - Take Up Your Cross
"Then he said to them all, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.'"
—Luke 9:23
"How do I become a disciple?" There are books and bible studies that are dedicated to answering that question. Some people answer the question with a system or formula, (bible study x prayer + generosity = faithful disciple). Some people take a more organic approach, (Love one another, serve one another). But the process of becoming a disciple is the same today as it was when Jesus walked the earth. He gave us the only formula we need when he said, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."
Practically, becoming a modern disciple of Jesus means denying yourself, and taking up your cross daily by declaring to yourself and to God that nothing you possess, no relationship you have, no dreams you hold are worth more than being submitted to the will of God.
It sounds so simple when Jesus says it. It's just three steps: deny, take up, and follow. But when it's our dreams and plans that are placed on the altar of sacrifice, when it's our hopes that we submit to God's plan, it can get a little nerve-racking. Our minds get consumed with "What if…?" "What if God takes this away from me? What if I am mocked for denying myself? What if I deny myself and it's still not good enough? What if God doesn't use me, or worse, makes me miserable?" Yes, the first step to faithful discipleship is disconcerting.
But once you have decided, and declared that you are a disciple. Once you've made it past that initial struggle, we begin to ask a slightly different question. "What if…?" What if I obey, and God shows up to help the lost and the hurting? What if in denying myself I make a way for someone else to experience grace and forgiveness? What if in giving, I receive? What if there were more disciples? If 12 disciples can result in the church we have today, what if we all were faithful disciples? What could God do with us then?
Homework this week:
Pray, the prayer of St. Francis as a way to surrender yourself to God’s will. Ask "What if God used me this week?" and expect an answer.
—Luke 9:23
"How do I become a disciple?" There are books and bible studies that are dedicated to answering that question. Some people answer the question with a system or formula, (bible study x prayer + generosity = faithful disciple). Some people take a more organic approach, (Love one another, serve one another). But the process of becoming a disciple is the same today as it was when Jesus walked the earth. He gave us the only formula we need when he said, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."
Practically, becoming a modern disciple of Jesus means denying yourself, and taking up your cross daily by declaring to yourself and to God that nothing you possess, no relationship you have, no dreams you hold are worth more than being submitted to the will of God.
It sounds so simple when Jesus says it. It's just three steps: deny, take up, and follow. But when it's our dreams and plans that are placed on the altar of sacrifice, when it's our hopes that we submit to God's plan, it can get a little nerve-racking. Our minds get consumed with "What if…?" "What if God takes this away from me? What if I am mocked for denying myself? What if I deny myself and it's still not good enough? What if God doesn't use me, or worse, makes me miserable?" Yes, the first step to faithful discipleship is disconcerting.
But once you have decided, and declared that you are a disciple. Once you've made it past that initial struggle, we begin to ask a slightly different question. "What if…?" What if I obey, and God shows up to help the lost and the hurting? What if in denying myself I make a way for someone else to experience grace and forgiveness? What if in giving, I receive? What if there were more disciples? If 12 disciples can result in the church we have today, what if we all were faithful disciples? What could God do with us then?
Homework this week:
Pray, the prayer of St. Francis as a way to surrender yourself to God’s will. Ask "What if God used me this week?" and expect an answer.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon:
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled
as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.