Taking Up His Cross...
Mark 8:34-35
When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.
Personal Challenge
How is it that we are told that a Christian life is one of joy, peace, and love and yet we are commanded to take up the cross of Christ and live our lives as living sacrifices for Him? This is one of the great mysteries of God. If I fully give my life over to Christ then my life will become a life of servitude and submission to Him and to those whom I am called to love, which is everyone. This is the life in the physical, temporal realm that I live in this body. And yes, at times it will be tiring, it will be painful, it will be draining. However, this life is also being lived in the spiritual realm and it is here that God fills my life with joy in doing His work, with peace knowing that I am pleasing Him and drawing closer to Him, and love that He is pouring into me, abundant enough that it overflows through me to those around me that I am called to love. Thank You, Lord Jesus!
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