My Cross Is My Opportunity

Not all Christians are conscious that the one we follow is the Lamb of God. And as one who takes away the sins of the world, Christianity is not meaningful except to one who knows that he is a sinner and in need of redemption. Those who first followed, although attracted by the
news of the kingdom of heaven were told that the best way to follow was to deny oneself and take up one’s cross (Mt. 16, 24). The concept of self-denial is identified here to mean that the reason for accepting the cross is not for the self but for others. This idea agrees with what many consider crosses—a burden they would rather not have wished to bear. Some of them may be seen as imposed to the extent of being plots concocted behind us that we know nothing about. It is the gamut of all these that made us consider as cross everything that people do and endure for the good of others and in the quest of salvation. To move ahead in the midst of all these, is the acknowledgment of an intersection where one faces a decision making—to please God going forward or to fall under the weight of self-interest.
Moving ahead past this intersection is difficult for many and is at the heart of some of the tensions that have engulfed peoples. It breeds anger, dissatisfaction, flawed dedication etc. These run antithetical to our being as made in the image and likeness of God and who have to do the best we can, so that our actions can be reflective of who we are created to be—children of God. And with the spark of the divine in us this work, using the experience of Job, shows that we have a role to play in deciding who takes the glory in how we choose to move forward from those points of intersection we meet in life. How we continue should draw from the notion that the cross is the sign of God’s love. Therefore, from all that we call our crosses are presented fresh opportunities where we are tasked with the call of love; so that the love of God can flow from us to others. It will surely be heavy and arduous at times but we don’t abandon it because that will
amount to denying love to another who needed it and overlooking an opportunity to gain salvation. Therefore, going on will require a corresponding attitude which was that of humility and meekness—described as the Christ way.
One of the sources of stress and tensed human community is in the sense of the cross one is bearing whether from home, relationships, the place of work, and the ordinary environment of everyday. Without downplaying the seriousness and the weight of them, the real focus of this work is to develop a sense of meaning in everything or situation considered as cross no longer as an inflicted burden but a seed-ground or at best an opportunity to help others become better. With this new vision the thing or situations is appraised as a bridge and ladder able to help the one who bears it move from the place of ingratitude to the place of gratefulness (by counting their blessings), and on which to climb to the height of salvation. In all, the recommendation is to take the opportunity of every considered cross and moment to ask a deep spiritual question of, “how can I adapt the things around me to serve as a bridge and a ladder in the business of life.” This is one important truth embedded in the determination to carry one’s cross knowing that God who does not abandon his own has a Simon waiting for every cross we bear.
With this in mind and as an inspiration to demonstrate love of others and desire for God’s glory, instead of multiplying stress in and around because of the challenges of life we will be doing more to multiply love and societal good—all of which are more needed now than ever.