Pondering

“And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?” Luke 9:23-25 KJV

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“Christians follow their Lord by imitating His life and obeying His commands. To shoulder one’s cross meant to carry one’s own cross to the place of crucifixion...Applied to the disciples, it meant to identify completely with Christ’s message, even if it meant death. We must deny our selfish desires to use our time and money our own way and to choose our own direction in life without regard to Christ. Following Christ in this life may be costly, but in the long run, it is well worth the pain and effort.” (Ilumina Software: © 2003, Tyndale House Publishers)

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Lately I've been pondering these verses. They remind me of the well known quote from Jim Elliot's journal: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."

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I believe, that even if we're not called on to become martyrs for our Christian faith as Mr Elliot was, we're all called to lay down our 'rights' -- the rights to 'our' money, 'our' time, 'our' way, 'our' (fill in the blank here). If we are to be truly Christ like then we must be willing to deny ourselves, as Christ did, and walk the narrow path. We must look at life from an eternal point of view rather then solely a temporal one and be willing to do as He would have us do in all things.

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By this I am not saying that we cannot have nice homes or savings in the bank and I am not saying that we cannot take vacations or have a dependable, newer model car. Nope, it is not for me to judge others for what they have--that is between them and God; after all there were both rich and poor believers in Biblical times, and the same is true today.

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What I am saying is that we must be willing to surrender all that we are in terms of talents, intelligence, personality AND all that we have in terms of money, time and other resources to God and His work. To look for His will, instead of ours, daily. To live out the life HE calls us to live in the manner He calls us to live it and to be the people He saved us to be.

When I was younger I heard two people speak that did take up their cross; two women that I admire greatly to this day. One was Elizabeth Elliot (wife of the Jim quoted above) who chose to give up her 'right' to hate or take revenge on the people who had recently murdered her husband and the 'right' to live in safety. Instead she chose to go right into the midst of these same people, with her little daughter; to live among them and to teach them about the God who loves the whole world. Talk about belief and trust in God being lived out on a daily basis! And the result was one of eternal importance--many were saved and stopped living the chaotic life they once lived.

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The other woman was Corrie ten Boom, who with her family chose to give up their rights for safety (security) in order to give shelter to some Jews who faced almost certain death if the Nazis found them. It cost her a lot--imprisonment in a concentration camp, her freedom, her family (some of whom died in the camps they were sent to). But both she and her entire family thought God's will and commandments (things of eternal significance) more important to obey then anything they might lose here on earth - up to and including their lives.

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Sadly, in my own life, I have not always lived up to the standard God calls us to as Christ followers. The other night I had a very bad scare and this set me to thinking if I knew I had only a week or a month to live, how would I change my actions and reactions, my words and my thoughts, my deeds. I had to admit there were still changes that needed to be made in my life; priorities that needed to be looked at.

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And I will.

Blessings,

Aimee
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.Photo: cemetery not far from two of the farms featured here.