November 5, 2014
Jesus said, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Lk 14:25-33
The cost of discipleship.
But just what does that mean, “Carry his own cross“?
Jesus says later, “everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” ibid
And that sounds kind of rough!
But what it really means is that when we tend to hold on too tightly to some of those possessions, they can actually become gods to us. And then we no longer possess them, but they possess us: our car, our home, our toys. What is it, beloved, that we’re clinging to? What is it that would really, truly upset us, if we lost it?
I guess once we get old enough or beat up enough to have lost wallets to theft, houses to fire, cars to wrecks and even family members to death, we learn how expendable everything really is. We learn how to love without possessing. We learn that we really don’t possess anything! Even these very lives of ours.
And that’s also when we learn to carry this cross of solitude, of non-possession. But remember, beloved, though it may be a cross of solitude, it is not a cross of isolation. Jesus is with us every step of the way. He IS our God, our solitary possession. And when we realize that and follow Him – then we become truly free. We become truly ALIVE!
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Whispers to the Wind 