When Jesus
gave us the conditions for being a faithful follower of his, he described what
he was about to do in his own life.
Luk
9:23 Then Jesus said to all the people: If any of you want to be my followers,
you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow
me. (CEV)
He lived out
his title of Prince of Peace by offering peace to anyone who would be his
disciple, accepting him for he was and submitting to his Lordship. He coerced
no one. He offered no terrible options to those who refused to follow him. He
offered hope to those who followed him and pictured the consequences of their
own freely made choices to those who refused.
In this 21st
century both as individuals and as groups we must also make some kind of
response to this plan laid out by Jesus. If we accept him as Lord of our lives,
then we must accept the pattern of life Jesus describes. We must place our own
desires and wills behind the demands of God and the needs of others. We must
live the crucified life which involves a full submission to the will of God,
and we must identify with the One whom we follow in a way the world will
recognize.
In other
parts of the world, followers of Jesus are doing this and finding they are
persecuted for their faith in the Prince of Peace. Their stories are being
recorded on web sites such as www.persecution.com; www.morningstarnews.org; and www.opendoor.org. Other sites are also active in
spreading the news of persecuted Christians and seeking to raise both awareness
of their plight and finances to help in their support.
Jesus
carried a cross as the primary symbol of his devotion to God and the lifestyle
to which he called his followers. That cross has served through the centuries
as a symbol of self-sacrifice and love that brings about reconciliation. Jesus
was nailed on the cross at the demand of an angry mob. His words of response were
the words of the Prince of Peace.
Luk
23:34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive these people! They don't know what
they're doing." While the crowd stood there watching Jesus, the soldiers
gambled for his clothes. The leaders insulted him by saying, "He saved others.
Now he should save himself, if he really is God's chosen Messiah!"
There was a
time when Christianity was spread with a sword – convert or die. All Christians
today condemn such actions of the past. They were not and are not the actions
of the true followers of the Prince of Peace. The message of Christianity must
be shared by love and acceptance even in the face of rejection. Jesus loved and
forgave. That is the message of the cross.
As surely as
the Prince of Peace reigns over his Kingdom through his self-sacrifice and
resurrection from the dead, so his followers must also be a force for his
Kingdom through self-sacrifice. This does not come through coercion with a
sword, but through love and compassion while bearing a cross. Each believer in
Christ is called to live a life of self-denial and daily crucifixion so that
others will see the Prince of Peace living through their life.
The follower
of Jesus loves God first and foremost, and then his neighbor as he loves
himself. Such love is submissive to God and servant-like before our fellow man.
The servant of Jesus reveals the demands of love but does not fill the role of
judge when that love is rejected. The cross is for the believer, not the one
who refuses God’s love and offer of forgiveness and then walks away.
God commands
a specific way of life from all his creatures. We as his children do not make
commands. We offer. We offer love and forgiveness freely extended from a cross.
We carry no sword. The decisions and transformations we seek come from the
power of love under the control of God’s Holy Spirit.
