Matthew 10:38-39
And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
Personal Challenge...
Here is one of the core requirements for living a Christian life...taking up my cross and following Jesus. Where did Jesus go? He gave up the comforts of heaven to come to be amongst us. What comforts of my home, my "entitlement" as a comfortable American citizen, am I being asked to leave behind so that I can follow where He leads me? All of them! He spent time with the outcast, the sick, the broken, the lonely, the lowly. Who is He asking me to spend time with? The homeless, the sick, the broken, my enemies, those whom I love and those whom I don't, anyone in need! He let go of the possessions that were His. What does He want me to let go of? All that I have because it belongs to Him anyway! Does He want me to give everything away, run off into the desert and spend the rest of my life living the life of a hermit? Not necessarily, but He does want me to live my life ascetically...putting others first, loving my neighbor and doing all that I do in love, holding on to those things that He has given me lightly so that they do not become idols, manifesting the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Glory be to God!
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