May 1, 2017 – Mark 8:34-35

Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. Mark 8:34-35

The rough hewn timbers were put together to hold our precious Jesus was heavy.  Its weight, carried by Jesus up the road to Golgotha, was physically daunting and the weight was compounded by the spiritual weight of our sins, those committed and those that would be committed through time.

We are sin-weary, and the only hope we will find comes from Jesus who was raised in victory from death.  Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, take up your cross and follow me.”

The choice lies before us –if we choose Jesus, we are free from the weariness that makes life so difficult. If we choose the world and what it holds, we lose the wonder of living with a song in our hearts and praising Jesus.

Moment by moment we learn and rejoice in His glory. We learn to love and forgive, to believe and trust, to pray and live – all for Jesus. Gone is the desire to compete with others in anger,  jealousy, and pride, but to glory in all that Jesus creates in us.

Man desires adventures, climbing mountains, crossing seas, going where no man has gone before.  The greatest adventure in living is giving our lives to Jesus Christ.  Following the royal law to love the Lord our God and our neighbor as ourselves, is a life of giving and fulfillment of great joy.

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? Mark 8:36-37