LAY DOWN CROSSES

As we all know from the experience of living on this earth, crosses are a normal occurrence in life. I think it is a natural part of life because we know that Jesus, who was both divine and human, dealt with one of the biggest crosses of all time. Jesus carried and suffered upon a cross in His humanity, with His cross being both physical and figurative at the same time as He carried the weight of all our sins on His shoulders.

 

Finally Pilate handed him [Jesus] over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.  –John 19:16-18  (NIV)

As the soldiers led him [Jesus] away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.  –Luke 23:26  (NIV)

Jesus began to carry His physical cross that He would soon be crucified upon for all of our sins. How beautiful that unexpectedly Simon from Cyrene was forced to help carry Jesus’ cross from behind Him. It shows us the importance of others being instrumental in helping us carry our crosses—being there for one another.

 

Photo courtesy of dbgg1979 under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0)

 

Most of our crosses do not require us to lay down our lives literally like Jesus did. But with Jesus willingly suffering death on a cross to set us free, how much more should we accept our crosses in life?

 

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  –Matthew 16:21-25  (NIV)

Aren’t we just like Peter? Peter did not want to think of Jesus as suffering when He shared about His approaching suffering and means of death. Jesus powerfully points out that suffering has an eternal consequence, and that is what is most important. We shouldn’t be as concerned with the human part of suffering. Just as Jesus denied Himself, offering His very life for us and taking  up His cross with dignity, so Jesus instructs us to do the same. We will find our true life in Him.

 

 

 

 

 

I know of a family in my area who is dealing with a major cross. Remi, their oldest of four children, an eleven-year-old, six-grade boy, found out last Tuesday that he had a sizeable brain tumor. He had surgery on Friday, and by Wednesday was discharged from the hospital, was in rehab and is already home. On March 10^th he will start treatments of chemo and radiation. Many people have been praying for him and his family during this difficult time. We are praising the Lord that the pathology report was MUCH better than they anticipated, and doctors are giving him a 90-98% success rate.

I am in awe of the faith of young Remi and his family. Right before his surgery, Remi said,

 

What stellar faith from an eleven-year-old and a great reminder for us all!

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.  –Psalm 8:1-2  (NIV)

It is a beautiful blessing to see a child step out in faith and praise the Lord, especially when in the face of adversity. God says that the praise of children can silence the foe. I believe God will do this in Remi’s life. Remi sees God’s glory that fills the earth and heaven. What a good God we have!

 

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!  –Psalm 34:8  (NLT)

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.  –Philippians 4:13  (NLT)

I believe that these two verses are what Remi is living out in his life. What beauty there is to see a young person of faith who already knows the goodness of God in his life. Remi knows that Christ is with him and giving him strength to face one hard thing at a time. Thank you, Remi, for modeling that for us all.

The family’s latest update said this; “Remington IS in for a tough road, but we are taking one VICTORY at a time!”

 

Photo courtesy of Dr. Johnson Cherian under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

 

I have shared a few times about my treasured friends, Greg and Lilly, who have endured a huge cross in their lives for over 41 years as they have dealt with his health issues through the years. The faith they live out daily inspires me greatly. Sadly, he has been in the hospital with pneumonia for a few days now. I texted him to let him know I am praying for him. A line from his response fit perfectly with this reflection and brought a few tears to my eyes. “Do you hear from your daughter (who is in basic training)? We keep praying for her. I’m dedicating all pain to her relief.” Wow… Greg can’t change the cross of being in pain 24/7 and now in the hospital, and he is offering that pain as a sacrifice to help my daughter, whom he doesn’t even know personally, with what she is going through! He lives his faith powerfully, and I am honored and humbled by his gesture.

 

Be encouraged this week to…

… lay down a cross at the foot of the cross.

… help carry a cross for someone who is heavily burdened.

… ask for strength to carry your crosses.

… see God’s goodness as you take one hard thing at a time.

… dedicate the suffering of a cross to someone in need.

… know there is victory in the cross.

 

REFLECTION:

What cross are you ready to lay down at the foot of the cross?
Can you thank someone who has prayed you through a cross?

 

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  –1 Corinthians 15:57  (NIV)