In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is, destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal. John 12:25 (MSG)

Live Authentically – Cross Series Part 6

Go to  PART 1  |  PART 2  |  PART 3  |  PART 4  |  PART 5

“Take up your cross and follow me.”

I wonder if these words were playing over in the disciples hearts as they watched Jesus die. What did they mean to them? What did it awaken and evoke within them? I think it would have been a mixture of things. My first reaction would have been fear: Take up MY cross? Are we all going to be crucified?

We throw this verse around without really letting it sink in. I’ve said it as a younger church leader in the context of trying to get people to engage in the work of the church (Is that too honest? EEK!). It’s been said to me over and over again – “Take up your cross” – get serious, get sacrificial, put your life on hold, die to your hopes and dreams and live for the cause…

But did Jesus mean it in this way? Or could it mean more than that?

Like we said in Part Four, in Jesus time crucifixion was a death that stripped a person of their culture and identity. It dominated them. Peter Rollins says, “To be crucified meant to be robbed of one’s political and religious status. The person being executed was no longer a citizen and was considered cursed of God. Thus to identify with someone on a cross was to identify with someone robbed of identity. To be “crucified with Christ” thus speaks of a breaking of strict identity markers. This doesn’t mean that people now no longer have identities, but they now hold them in such a way that they no longer define the scope and limitations of their lives.”

When Jesus was crucified, he was stripped of his identity in such a way that he became all things to all people – he became every single one of us. There were no identity markers that limited or blocked his connection with the world. In his death, he unified us all. His great work of salvation was not waving a flag of allegiance, choosing sides, or differentiating between the sinner and the saint. In his great sacrifice, he boldly, vulnerably and courageously declared our common union. He took on the human condition and partnered with us in death so that we could take on the supernatural and join him in resurrection.

Living selfishly, in its bad sense, is to live separate; isolated in such a way that you put yourself first to the detriment of others. It’s a life that clearly identifies you as being different, and often more important, than others. It compares, judges, and divides.

To offer your life as a gift is to be the best YOU you can be to the betterment of others and the community around you. It’s the destruction of borders and differences and is lead by the inclusive nature of love and grace.

“Turn from your selfish ways” – don’t live to gratify your impulses. Live purposefully and authentically.
“Take up your cross” – drop the borders and identity markers and shoulder your common ground with all humanity. Open your heart and serve rather than dominate and oppress. It’s not about winning and losing.
“Follow me” – trust the divine. Your cross may not be a literal one, but God will lead you to reach out, go deep, live in community, share and be generous; to love without limitation and to see hearts and spirits through hurt and pain.

And living this way might be a bit more painful, a little more deep, a tad more intentional, a whole lot more messy; you’ll need more courage as you’ll always be facing your fears, you’ll need more discipline because you won’t run from trouble; you’ll need more endurance so you can face whatever is before you, the good and the bad.

But it always, always, always leads to resurrection. Life. Abundant.

“…anyone who holds on to life just as it is, destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.” John 12:25

Go to Part 7 – You True Self »