“Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull.”
John 19:17 NLT
Each one of us is invited to walk a unique path through life. My greatest aspiration is not to mirror a life I choose to recognise as successful, but to take up my own cross and attempt to carry it. As I grew up, the idea that life involved carrying a cross never entered my mind; both because I wasn’t in a Christian family, and because I dreamed of happiness, free from pain of any sort.
The nature of the cross we each carry is both the inner turmoil we must sort through as well as external intrusions that rock our world. I found I had little by way of a toolkit to address either. Consequently, I imploded and took out my confusion on those around me. In other words, I seriously damaged at least one set of tools I needed. I have a great friend today who has spent his life investing in networking. This is not for his self-advancement, but simply out of enjoyment of others’ stories and experience. I know he will never be short of a drinking companion. I recognise I destroyed most of my networks as I was overtaken with my own inability to manage inner and external pain, and the two often danced in tandem.
While I cried out in anguish at the size of the cross I felt I bore unfairly, Jesus in contrast says not a word but shoulders his roughly hewn wooden cross on lacerated shoulders. Who can conceive the physical pain? Yet, this was Jesus’ unique path through life, a path that led to the end of his road. Somehow he found the resolve to walk under his load, through a crowd of jeering critics, without his friends, and continually beaten by his captors. I have little sense of my capacity to walk such a path, and I do not have to. However, I will discover the crosses laid upon my shoulder and I will discover if I have the resolve to shoulder them in obedience. Will it be a walk of learning or complaint?
QUESTION
What crosses are you bearing today?
PRAYER
Please, Father, give all those who need it the strength to persevere and to keep walking.