I know the way to have a great and significant life! It is no secret at all. I have known it for a long, long time. I can honestly say…for some years I didn’t grasp the significance like I should. I guess the best way to describe it would be to say, “Once upon a time, I took a wrong turn on the road of my life.”
Didn’t even know I had taken a wrong turn. Had no clue I was on the wrong road–the road called “Jesus is Second”. You know where that road led???? To a dark…dead end “PIT”. I physically was moving and shaking, even reading my Bible and praying but…it was kind of like “texting and driving”….dangerous…very dangerous.
My attention was divided.
My heart was divided.
Praise God! Someone…pointed out that I had taken a serious wrong turn…and pointed me….back to the “road of life!” I finally realized I had lost my way. Something in my spirit…it was the Holy Spirit…nudging me….prompting me to seek someone to point out what I couldn’t see for myself.
Do you know what is on that road of “life” of significance for me…and not just for me…but for anyone who is seeking and wanting to put Christ first?
A “cross!”
Yep, as we celebrate the most significant Cross, the one Jesus died on, I/you/we all need to understand we all have a Cross. Scripture teaches in Matthew 10:35, “Whoever does not take up their CROSS and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” [emphasis mine].
Isaiah 53:5-6, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Are we the sheep that have gone astray?
Losing your life…to your will, your wants, your desires….is a great thing. Losing your life to submit to God’s created purpose for you is a cross worth carrying. It doesn’t mean it is not heavy at times…and even painful….but there is gain in pain and significant rewards for sacrifice of my/your will to the will of God.
As you take time to reflect this Easter, I encourage you to ask God…Am I carrying my cross? Am I on the right road with my cross? HE will be faithful to show you. Matthew 7:7 teaches us, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
God’s promise is for everyone. Seek, knock and walk through the door that Jesus opens for you. Lose your life to a “significant” life. Instead of wearing a cross around your neck, carry your cross on the road named, “Jesus is First!”
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” ~Jim Elliot