We live with the choices we make as well as the outcome of those choices.  The carrying of our cross is a significant responsibility for those who choose to become disciples of Jesus Christ.  For those who choose to follow Jesus Christ, carrying the cross is a serious responsibility.  Yet many of us fail to recognize its importance, and some who call ourselves disciples have not fully understood what our cross is or how we are meant to carry it.  Christ’s call can be difficult, especially when it challenges our closest relationships and requires a loyalty greater than family, friends, or personal comfort.  That alone can feel like a heavy burden.  Still, when our relationship with God and Christ becomes central to our lives, the choices before us become deeply significant.  Family, friends, and acquaintances may pull us away from walking alone with God.  The truth is we are often misguided by what’s really important in life.  Some of us believe that family is everything.  They are important.  But, if you had to choose between living without family or living without God, which would you choose?  At times, we may face the same kind of testing Jesus faced in the wilderness with the propositional phrase: “If you are a child of God …”  In that moment, we must decide whether to walk faithfully alone with God or follow the crowd listening only to the voice within our own heads.  But the reality is, we must choose.  And our decision will determine whether we are disciples who are picking up our crosses and following Christ or bystanders seeking to choose the cross of our own comfort and convenience.  The cross we choose will tell whether we’re seeking to do our will rather than the will of God.

• How difficult do you believe it will be to refuse a friend or family invitation to do something that goes against your faith, even if it might be considered “fun?”
• What is the cross God has given you to pick up and carry?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, make clear to me what my cross is to carry and then, help me to lift and carry the cross You’ve appointed for me.

         In Kansas and other states as well, there is often a rivalry between colleges of the same state.  Among large state universities in Kansas, the rival is between Kansas University and Kansas State University.  The rivalry is lived out specifically in the sporting arena between their football and basketball teams.  But there is another quiet rivalry lived out among the students, particularly those who choose their partners from their rival university.  Their rivalry is lived out as they proclaim on automobile license plates, “A House Divided”, with KU on one side of the plate and KSU on the other: each person living in the same house but not denying their loyalty to their school.

         Loyalty has become an important determining factor in solidifying many forms of relationships.  It’s become widely popular in the political arena.  It’s also been a significant factor in the arena of denominational faith.  Fraternity’s and sorority’s all demand loyalty to who they are, and other groups do the same.  It’s always been a large part of people’s marriage vows.  Loyalty to flag and country ranks high among some people.  And without exception, it is a crucial and important value in one’s relationship with their higher being or God.  To that end, loyalty is a non‑negotiable part of the relationship.

         When we think about our loyalty to Christ, it is clearly a non-negotiable relationship.  We are either with Christ or against Christ.  The cross is what separates Christ and Christianity from every other religious or spiritual figure.  While the power of Christ has come casting out demons, it is clear that he is not aligned with them but aligned with the God of all creation.  In order to stand against Christ, we must be able to overcome him.  In order to do that, one must choose to go it alone against God, rather than loyally walking alone with God.  The choice is always ours.  And it’s as Christ has said: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather scatters.”  There are plenty of people who choose to go it alone without God.  And there are those of us who choose to go it alone with God for Christ gathering and not scattering.

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Gracious God, empower me to live my life in loyalty with You and Your Christ. Enable me to be a gatherer and not one who scatters Your children.

         There is a story about the choices we make and the outcome of those choices:

“Fred inherited $10 million, but the will required him to claim it either in Chile or Brazil.  He chose Brazil. Unfortunately had he chosen Chile he would have received land where  uranium, gold, and silver had just been discovered.  In Brazil, he then had to choose between receiving his inheritance in coffee or nuts.  He chose nuts.  Too bad!  Soon after, the nut market collapsed, and coffee went up to $1.30 a pound wholesale, unroasted.  Fred lost everything.  To raise enough money to return home, he sold his solid gold watch and bought a ticket to either New York or Boston.  He chose Boston.  When the plane for New York taxied up, he noticed it was a gleaming new 747, complete with red carpets,  and stylish people and hostesses serving wine.  The Boston plane, however,  was a 1928 Ford Tri motor with a sagging frame that took a full day to get off the ground.  It was crowded with crying children and tethered goats.  Over the Andes, one of the engines fell off.  Fred made his way to the captain and said, “I'm a jinx on this plane.  Let me out if you want to save your lives.  Give me a parachute.”  The pilot agreed, but added, “On this plane, anybody who bails out must wear 2 chutes.”  So, Fred jumped out of the plane and tried to make up his mind which ripcord to pull.  Finally, he chose the one on the left.  It was rusty and the wire pulled loose. So, he then pulled the other handle.  This chute opened, but its shroud lines broke.  In desperation, the poor fellow cried out, “Saint Francis save me!”  A great hand from heaven reached down and seized the poor fellow by the wrist and held him suspended in mid-air.  Then a gentle, inquisitive voice asked, “Saint Francis Xavier or Saint Francis of Assisi?”

         How we answer the questions asked of us in life and the choices we make can have life changing results.  We can choose to go it alone with God or simply go it alone on our own.  The question is age-old:  Will we choose God over our self-will, or will we choose God’s will over our own?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Merciful God, guide me in my decisions around those choices in my life that always lead me to go it alone with you rather than living my life on my own principles.