Listen

After calling the crowd together with his disciples, Jesus said to them, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me and because of the good news will save them.”

Mark 8:34-35

Think

This is one of those most-quoted passages of Scripture that you’ve probably heard before — maybe too often. It makes a great sermon text for the last night of youth camp when everyone is charged up and ready to storm hell with a water pistol. Yet it’s harder to keep going once you’ve left camp and returned to the everyday routine of home.

There’s a connection here with Sarah and Abraham from Genesis, though. Think about that story we began with this week. They didn’t know of Jesus, but they knew the voice of God. They didn’t know of the Cross, but they knew something about sacrifice. They exemplify what it means to save your life by losing it. Remember, they were “as good as dead” and yet became the parents of multitudes. They denied themselves and followed God.

True faith is not just about the little decisions we make each day but is about the accumulation of those decisions over time. We deny ourselves and take up the cross over and over and over — being faithful in the same direction.

Mark Wingfield

Pray

God of the cross, sometimes your call to faithfulness takes me to challenging places, beyond my limits. Help me not to get too overwhelmed by this call but to remember that following you is about being faithful in small, everyday ways. Amen.

Go

Go, empowered by the real truth of God’s promises and commit to be a truth-teller yourself.

Go in peace, live in truth.