The Way of the Cross

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Luke 9:23-24 ~  Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it."

Today is Palm Sunday and I love the celebration and symbols of this day. Like the crowds in this Palm Sunday story, we celebrate and excitedly welcome Jesus into our midst. In our context here, we have breakfast together. We decorate the aisle of the church with palms. Later today the children and adults will march around the sanctuary and wave the palms. We've created crosses from some of the palm branches that people can take home with them.

As I was reflecting on this day, the thought occurred to me that when we follow Jesus we enjoy certain aspects of that, but we don't always weigh the cost of following Him. We forget that following Him means we are to pick up a cross and live a crucified life. 

Picking up my cross means that I am putting aside my desires to follow where He leads. It may mean responding in love when I want to lash out. Or it could mean that setting aside "me-time" to help someone with their problems. Walking the way of the cross may mean I'm mocked for my faith. Often it requires a different response to situations than how I would like to respond. Following Jesus often means walking against the crowd. 

It's hard a hard path. It is a daily sacrifice of self and selfishness. And yet, it's what is required of those who want to follow Christ. Attending a church service, waving palm branches and celebrating this day is only a tiny part of what it means to walk in Jesus' path. 

The donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem was leading Him straight down the path to the cross where he hung a week later. He knew where He was headed and yet, He kept on going. When we say we follow Christ, it's important to know  what that means and where we are going. We are following Him down a difficult path and the way of the cross, but we are not alone because He is walking with us in that pathway.

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