Daily Reflections ...

In the scripture today, Jesus calls not just the crowd with his disciples but he also calls each one of us, personally and intimately, to follow him.  It is something we must choose every day – to accept the invitation to follow Jesus.  But it is not always an easy invitation. Jesus invites us by saying: If you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself and take up your cross, every day.

So, what does it mean to take up our cross? 

Jesus invites us to take up our cross daily to find a deeper life with Him, a life of faith.  To do this we need to accept the trials, disappointments and suffering that inevitably touch our lives.  We are to do this without bitterness.  Living a life of faith means believing that nothing is impossible for God.   Even when God doesn’t heal us or fix things the way we want, our faith can show us that God is present, especially in our trials.   We just need to believe in possibilities beyond our own wants or imagination.  

Jesus calls us to accept our cross, a place where some would think our faith is a failure.  However, Jesus shows us the cross is a place where love and hope is present.  It’s a place that leads to the resurrection.  Jesus shows us that to take up our cross means to believe in the resurrection.

Let us pray to be a follower of Jesus, to bring ourselves to the cross without fear, trusting in the hope of the resurrection.

by Lisa McKerr