There's Hope in the Cross for Me

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Mark 8:34

How in the world do we associate hope with such a command?
How do we not get stuck in the mires of self-denial and sink under a flood of self-pity?
Many of us wince and turn away from such talk of crosses because we know that is precisely what we would do.
The only way  is to search out  the perfect gift that pierces the darkness that swirls around these crosses. But it is not easy because this is, after all, a call to step willingly into the pain of withdrawal as we stop dosing on self-protection and start leaning into trust.

 

Every life lived in God's will has its moments on the peak of transfiguration and in the depth of death to self.  If we make life out to be all power and brilliancy, we grow shallow and useless as comforters of others. We may inspire them with our enthusiasm and assurance--which are good, but we cannot comfort them. More troublesome, we grow blind to our own peculiar needs for control. On the other hand, if we make life out to be all suffering and cost-counting, we grow bitter and exhausted, proving to be equally useless as comforters. Here, too, we may inspire, now with our perseverance, our self-control and our forbearance; but again, we can not comfort.  Likewise, in this perpetual state we grow blind to our own peculiar needs for control. In the balance of seasons we find our usefulness to God, to others and to ourselves. In the transition between our seasons of suffering and joy, we process what we experienced in the fullness of each season. God brings us to connect our story with an ever fuller range of Christ's own story.

 

But often  we perceive the cross of self-denial hopelessly; and by not connecting with the purpose of that cross we might misinterpret what we are being asked to take up in the first place. We end up crucifying the very thing our cross was meant to set free: our true self. It is our false self, the one that believes in the wrong comforts, that agrees with the addictions, that sets its sights on temporary coping and grasps at every sign of strength and power--this is what must die. Christ's true self, his essential self that defined his reason for becoming human--this is what was released by the cross and extended beyond it. Our perception of our own crosses should be just as far-reaching and should definitely be received through discernment. 

 

If we determine to take up our cross to follow him, we must listen closely. The hardest part is recognizing what cross to carry and what hill to climb with it, but the hidden hope that knows something wonderful, something eternal will be set free--this hope gives us the courage to follow Christ.