As Christians, we are called upon by God to stand out in our world, to be a light in the darkness, to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. It sounds like an easy enough thing to do but, in practice, it can be a difficult thing to do.
In standing apart from others in our world, in our living out of our Christian vocation, we find that we are vulnerable to the criticism, the scorn, and the mockery of our world. In being lights in the darkness, we find that unwanted attention is drawn to us when through our words and example we pierce the darkness of closed hearts. When we pick up our cross, that is, our difficulties and struggles, we are reminded by most people watching that it is easier to leave our cross where it is.
Through the example of Jesus and many, many people who have gone before us and even some among us today, we know, at some level, that while it may be easier to blend in, to stand in the darkness, to leave our cross where it is, we don’t grow spiritually or emotionally by doing so. We may experience the ridicule of others by standing up for our faith and growing in our faith but, in the end, if we profess our faith with integrity, we will prove ourselves undeserving of such ridicule.
My intention is not to sound cynical about our world but simply to acknowledge that there are many ways in our world and even in our own church and families, sometimes loudly and sometimes very subtly, that we are discouraged from following God’s call to live a life of discipleship and all the burdens that go along with it.
There is a value in carrying the burdens and difficulties of life; there is a value in working through the pains that life brings us; there is a value in the sacrifice it often takes to be a follower of Jesus Christ. It is a value that can be found only in our experience of giving of ourselves to God, of putting aside our own wants and desires and truly discerning what God calls us to do.
We look to Jesus who begged God the Father to take away His suffering, to free him from the ravages of the Cross, but He knew deep down what the Father wanted from Him and He knew His suffering had value for all of humanity. May we, too, be open to God’s will and see in our lives, in our endeavors and even in our pains and struggles, value to those around us. May we then open our hearts to receive the call to stand out and show others the way to God and the way to our fulfillment.+
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