Take up Your Cross

How would you describe your personality to others? Are you consistent in the face you present to close family members, associates, and total strangers alike, or do you ever feel the uncomfortable need to act differently to “fit in”?
The word “Persona” comes from the Greek word for mask, and we will sometimes wear different social “masks” according to the different roles we are acting.
When we encounter Moses in the third chapter of Exodus, he had his own view of his roles and abilities in life – and he did not see himself as the newly summoned leader and saviour of the Israeli people! In his own words, he was a nobody. A humble shepherd working for his father-in law.
How was Moses supposed to get the people of Israel to even listen to him, yet alone follow his leadership? How could he make the people believe he was sent to them by the command of God? He felt he was the wrong person for the task that God wanted to achieve; and said as much to God in protest!
But when God needs someone to act on His behalf, He rarely asks someone who feels they are up for a challenge and longing to prove themselves. There are far more reluctant characters in the Bible asking God, “Why me?” than there are heroes or heroines ready to volunteer!
God has a purpose when He asks us to stretch ourselves out of our comfort zones, to trust in His strength, instead of our own. He is teaching us that the solution to any problem is always in God’s capable hands, and that we are called to be His facilitators, no matter our own strengths or weaknesses, because God alone makes all things possible.
Jesus also tells of this surrender to God’s Will. He says:
“If you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it.” Matthew 16 v25
Jesus knows that we must abandon our precious sense of self, and empty ourselves of our self-image, so that we can live purely as examples of Christ’s love. When we totally relinquish our Selves in service to this greater power, we have no need to change persona’s to suit different situations.
Following the directions of Christ to take up your cross is an abandonment of self-interest and a commitment to service, as well as a reminder of the very real consequences that Jesus bore out, for our sakes, when He took up His Cross on the path to Calvary, the path to our redemption.

The Good News we need to hold on to, and share, is that God is ready and waiting to lead us on a path of His choosing that has only one destination – His Heavenly Kingdom. AMEN