Which Way Now?

Jesus’ disciples had a hard time figuring him out. Even as he "resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51) they were thinking he was preparing for revolt: since he was “the Anointed One of God” (9:20), surely their missions in chapters 9 and 10 were to build up a larger following, to overturn the Romans as well as the religious establishment! Somewhere along the way, Peter purchased two swords (22:38) to fight their way into or out of something, and he fought Jesus’ statement of being destined for death (Mat. 16:21-22).

But Jesus’ mission was much different from what his disciples planned for. For Jesus, the way to greatness was on the cross, not with the sword. Not through human effort and wisdom, but from God’s plan for him, which included giving up everything — his following, his home, family and business, and even his clothing as he went to the cross.

His message for us is the same as to them: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Mat. 16:24-26).

These next weeks of Lent, until Good Friday, encourage us to take inventory of what we hold onto more than to Jesus. What do we value in this world, and why? Few of us have fame or great riches, but we might be wishing for them. Our “instead of Jesus” might be possessions, or time, or control over our own schedule; it might be our desire to follow — or determination not to follow — certain spiritual disciplines like fasting or silence or generosity; or like a boulder right in front of one’s face, so wide the rest of the world isn’t visible, self-will, which may be creating all the others. What 'instead of Jesus' will cause us to lose everything? Yes, God’s grace covers all our sins, but if you’re holding on to something that tightly, do you really want forgiveness?

Lent is our time to re-examine all this, release it to God, and let him fill us up with Jesus instead. Let’s journey together.