21 young men, captives of ISIS, were marched onto a beach in Libya after persevering through weeks of torture- an attempt to get them to renounce their Christian faith.
And I wept.
You see, I had spent the weeks leading up to this time wrestling with God. It seemed following Him, trusting Him, was too hard. I felt the loving but firm hand of the Lord calling me deeper and further into surrender. And as I began to count the cost, it seemed like I had a lot to lose.
- To humble myself, recognizing my limitations as a broken human, meant having to let go of my pride.
- Trusting Him and His plans for my life meant I had to loosen my grip on my plans and agenda for my life.
- Allowing His spirit to work in my life and change me, meant putting to death ways of thinking and living, that, wrong as they may be, I had grown fond of in a warped sort of way.
- Letting the gospel flesh itself out with those that God has put in my path means sacrificing in ways I never knew possible.
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. The beginning of a season of repentance, reflection and resolve as we look ahead eager for the celebration of new life and resurrection Sunday.
As the people flocked out of churches across the world with an ash cross marking their foreheads, declaring themselves "people of the cross", I can't help but wonder if they, if I, have counted the cost. If they/I realize that to be a Christ follower you have a lot to lose.
Without a death, there is no resurrection.
ISIS said, "We are chopping off the heads of those that have been carrying around the cross illusion in their heads."
Illusion: Something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.
THE CROSS IS NOT AN ILLUSION!
But as we walk around with a cross on our foreheads while living our comfortable, self-serving, neat Christian lives, I wonder if we are living in an illusion of what being people of the cross truly means.
You see, Christianity isn't some feel good belief system to get you through the day. It's not a "wear your Sunday best", kum-ba-yah, kind of life.
Mark 8:34-36 says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?"
Being a follower of Christ is a wild and dangerous way to live!
If we want to be "people of the cross", we must be willing to take up our cross, not just wear one around our neck or on our forehead.
Of course we want a get-out-of-hell-for-free card. We want a comfy, good life. We want glory. We want to follow Jesus all the way to heaven- to walk along the streets of gold. But how quickly we forget that the road to heaven for Jesus was first a road to Jerusalem.
The Via Dolorosa: the way of suffering, the way of sorrow.
Before there is new life and celebration and rejoicing, there is death and sorrow and suffering.
On this road, the Via Dolorosa, Jesus was beaten, humiliated, scorned and rejected. He died a painful, barbaric, shameful death.
And yet for the joy set before him, he endured. He underwent emotional anguish unlike what any of us will ever endure, and yet he trusted His father and knew that the suffering was intended for a greater purpose.
He humbled Himself and in obedience moved forward, one step at a time down the road of suffering to His death. To His glory.
These people of the cross may have been escorted by ISIS fighters, but they were following their savior.
These men didn't die for an illusion. They didn't die for a cause. They died because they had gained Christ. They had counted the cost and found Jesus to be more than worth it. Jesus was more real to them in their life than anything. His promises were real. His love was never failing. Every surrender and sacrifice led to greater depths of love, a peace they'd never known, and a strength that was astonishing. He never left them. He was faithful in their lives and they knew He would be faithful in their deaths. They counted the cost and with a sober mind, for the joy set before them, they chose life by choosing death.
"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3:7-11
Oh, people of the cross, the cross is not an illusion! It is the very power of God! (1 Corinthians 1:18)
"So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:10-11
Yes, in the same way these 21 Egyptian Christians bowed their knees, one day EVERY knee will bow and EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord!
Just because we aren't kneeling with a man covered in black standing behind us with a knife to our necks, doesn't mean God isn't asking us to give our lives. That he isn't asking us to kneel in submission to His authority and ways.
"Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Romans 12:1
Sacrifice involves battling against sin and ways of our flesh. It's brutal. It's bloody. It's hard. And it's necessary.
Sacrifice, in life and in death.
Take off your Sunday best, oh people of the cross, and dress for war!
As a Christ follower you are most certainly an heir to the King, but you have joined the army of the Lord. So do not be surprised when the battle is at hand (1Peter 4:12). You have been equipped for battle! Take up your cross and with your face set on Him, fight the good fight. You will be wounded. There will be casualties. Take heart, dear ones, knowing He fights for you and the war has already been won!
Just before the beheadings, an ISIS fighter pointed his knife at the camera and said, "Safety for you crusaders is something you can only wish for."
As much as my flesh cringes at the thought, he is right.
What is the cross if not a symbol of sacrifice? The greatest display of His love and goodness towards us.
Either God is who He says He is and you can trust Him, or you can't.
Do you trust Him and His goodness in life and in death? In comforts and in suffering?
Let's be brave, people of the cross!
I know it's not easy. It's not supposed to be. May the courage of those 21 men who died with the name of Jesus on their lips embolden you to be a living sacrifice today!
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21
REFLECTION POINTS:
What is God asking you to surrender to Him today?
Are you wearing your cross rather than carrying your cross?
In what ways have you been living an illusion of the cross?
What step can you take today to move deeper into His love for you and surrender to Him?
In what ways do you need to die to yourself today so that you can truly live in Him?
It never ceases to amaze me how we often are thinking about the same things. I had been too wrestling with the cost and then struck by how little cost I have actually had to gain Christ. Thanks for putting these things into words, Jess!
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