Carry The Cross

In Matthew 20:20-22, the mother of James and John comes to Jesus and asks if her sons could sit on His right and left hand in the Kingdom of God. In response, Jesus says to them, "Do you know what you ask? Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"

As parents, all of us want what’s best for our kids. Parents' ultimate dream is for their kids to have a better life than we had. That's what James' and John's mother wanted. I imagine that Mary, Jesus' mother, wanted the same for her child.

But in the words of my pastor Dharius Daniels, "you can shortcut a lot of things, but you can’t shortcut purpose." To accomplish purpose, we must go through hard times. To be more like Jesus, we must carry our own cross (Matthew 16:24).

The question is, are you cheating the ones you love from that experience?

Many times, we try to save family members from pain and struggle. While we do it out of love, sometimes, pain and struggle are what's best for them. Pain and struggle make us stronger. They teach us lessons. They help us accomplish purpose.

You can't expect your family members to be great if they don't know how to handle adversity or make mistakes. Like the old saying goes, "no pain, no gain." Don't let your loved ones take the easy way out. Encourage them to take up their cross and follow Jesus.

God bless,
J.W.