“If you are horrible at math and you hate bugs, God is calling you to be a missionary teacher in Africa!” As a kid, that’s what I thought “deny yourself and take up your cross” meant. But Jesus didn’t say “I have come to make your life miserable.” To follow Jesus brings joy and fulfillment. He said, “I have come that you might have life…in all its fullness!” (John 10:10, Good News) But we are convinced sometimes that our way is better, so we struggle and wonder if God really knows best for our lives.

We forget the reason we can see clearly what the disciples could not see: we’ve had 2000 years to look at the whole picture. Of course God knows best! Jesus denied his instincts for self-preservation and headed toward the cross trusting that God would use Jesus’ selfless act of obedience to change history. Refusing to wear the crown everyone else thinks will save them, Jesus insists that the world will only be transformed by sacrificial love. And he’s right.

Jesus said to them, and he says it again to us, “Do you want to follow? Don’t rely on your instincts. Just follow my example and trust God.”

By Steve Cothran from d365.org