618w
SERENITY
(Hi No. 494843)
THEN JESUS SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES, "IF ANYONE WOULD COME AFTER ME, HE MUST DENY HIMSELF AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS AND FOLLOW ME." MATT. 16:24~Jesus never calls upon us to do anything that He was not prepared to do Himself. What He asks us to face, He has already faced. And when He calls upon us to take up a cross, He, Himself, has already borne one for us.
That goes against the grain of what the world teaches. The world teaches us that anything that bothers us or becomes difficult, we should avoid. Sadly, some churches seem to have adopted that attitude, too.
And yet, the words of Jesus are still there, "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself & take up his cross & follow me."
~So, cross bearing is not an accident that happens to us, or something unavoidable that we must face. Cross bearing is an act of love that we choose to do. It is a task that we undertake, a PRICE that we pay, out of LOVE for HIM.
For Jesus it meant going to a cross to die because He loved us so much He could do nothing else.
It means reaching out to people who are unlovable & unlovely & who may NEVER return the love. And yet we are to KEEP on loving because that’s what JESUS did. ARE WE NOT MADE IN HIS IMAGE?! We are to be like Jesus..
"A cross bearer is patient. A cross bearer is kind. A cross bearer does not envy. A cross bearer does not boast. A cross bearer is not arrogant or rude. A cross bearer is not self seeking.
“A cross bearer is not easily angered, nor keeps records of wrongs. He does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. A cross bearer always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." ~>And so is LOVE! .. -God Bless
