Life

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Life

Own     God's

Accept     Sacrifice      Carry

Take Up His Cross

Follow

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Matthew 16:24 and 25

Jesus said to His followers, "Whoever wants to come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will discover it."

Reflection

How do you truly find your life?

Sometimes it can take us awhile. We search for friendship, a career, marriage, and family. 

In the midst of our searching, we stop and take time to reflect on what is the true meaning of life. Jesus points us in the right direction in this passage from Matthew.

The formula is simple: just deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. No question, as we all know, there are going to be difficulties and challenges in life. There will be times when we are misunderstood, face sickness, work to confront injustices, battle hurricanes and tornadoes, try to end wars, and deal with the loss of loved ones.

In all of these situations and many more like them, we are called to try to follow Jesus. It helps us to look at what Jesus did. He did not think of His own comfort and ease. His focus was always on being faithful to the mission that the Father gave Him. 

As we follow Jesus we "lose" our life and the focus on our own worries and concerns. We concentrate on being faithful to the teachings and the example of Jesus.  He tried to help others, to heal others, to teach others, and to inspire others. 

When we do that also, we "find" our life. We discover what life is all about----to share this amazing Love of Jesus with each person we meet. This new life fills our hearts and gives us the strength to carry our crosses and to try to overcome the obstacles that face us each day.

It is this newly found "life" that fills us with joy and hope. We realize that we are not alone. Jesus is leading!

1. What have been the most meaningful and precious moments of your life?

2. How have you been "taking up your cross" lately?

3. What do you think Jesus means when He talks about "losing" your life?

4. What do you "find" when you reflect on Kathy's photo?

(Scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John J. McNamara)