June 27, 2013

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  Matthew 16:25

It is always a good idea to read verses in context.  The verse above was offered as a stand alone in my devotional materials for this morning.  I decided to take a look at verses before and after.  The verse immediately preceeding caught my attention.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."  Matthew 16:24

"Take up their cross. . ."  I have always remembered this particular passage as "take up my cross", referring to Christ's cross.  But Jesus personalizes the believer's cross.  While there are some common Christian disciplines in which we should all be engaged- witnessing, prayer, Bible study, meditation, tithing, etc. Matthew 16:24 goes beyond those shared disciplines.

Not all persons are called to teach Sunday School.  Vacation Bible School would drive some devout Christians to drink.  Not everyone is asked to serve lunch to the homeless.  BUT each of us is required to find and carry our individual cross for Christ.

As mentioned earlier, there are common expectations for all Chistians, but we are each called to go beyond the foundational "requirements" and seek our personal, unique crosses to bear for Christ.

Things can get a little scary when we start to ask God to reveal the "extras" He wants us to do.  Sunday school and once a week worship may require us to get a later tee time or miss out on a trip to the lake with the neighbors, but when a person starts to truly seek what God has designed specifically for them, things can get dicey.  Comrfort zones can be broached.  New learning may have to occur.  Worldly pursuits may have to be sacrificed.

However, the sense of fulfillment and accomplishment in knowing that you are truly taking up your individual cross for Christ will quickly replace any sense of loss or discomfort you feel.  God wants the very best for His children. He will not lead a Christians to a "bad" place or into a ministry and not equip the person.

If we can trust God with our eternal soul why not trust Him with our ministry choices?  If he can plan our eternity, surely He can work out a plan for where we can best serve Him while here on earth.