This man Jesus
Soul Snack S12/12 ... This man Jesus
There is nothing comfortable about a cross. There is nothing vague or compromised in -
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Lk 9:23)
There is nothing sanitary about your salvation. It was the brutalising of God, mans' ignorant and satan's deliberate attempt to destroy the Divine.
This man Jesus, who had no place to lay His head, still calls for parental hatred and He still will divide siblings is not a man given to the acceptance or approval of those who are lukewarm.
This man Jesus who retained no self-protection, denied all self-promotion and refused to resist His enemies does not invite followers from a cushioned cross or even rope-held limbs.
His cry for no-compromise and His pattern for self-removal does not beckon, it commands -
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Lk 9:23)
It is an absolute and sheer lunacy to build a world-changing faith upon non-indulgence, an absent self and an insecure, even unseen future. Yet, this is Jesus' recruitment strategy -- nailed, indeed suspended, visible to all who would take the time to look up.
There is no cajoling from Calvary. Jesus brooks no competitors. To claim the title of Christian is to claim the discomfort of your much loved name-sake.
Today's Soul Snippet:
"The sweet sound of amazing grace saves us from the necessity of self-deception." Brennan Manning