Every Day

A few days ago, I looked at what I think is a pretty nice arrangement of crosses on one of our walls and as I passed by, I thought, “It might be interesting to draw those.” I pondered this off and on because I personally like this recent decorating trend people have for putting their cross collections on a wall in their house. The way my mind works however, I started to wonder, “Is it right to have more than one?” Or even, “Is it ok to use the cross for decorating?”

Jesus says we need to take up OUR cross and follow him…every day. To me, that means we each have a personal cross and just as there are many kinds of individuals, there are also many different crosses. We have to make a conscious effort every day as we wake up to commit to “picking up our crosses.” Some days we do better than others. Some days we fail miserably. Some days we forget. Some days they seem too heavy. Other days they are light.

I so often enjoy Eugene Peterson’s Message translation of the Bible and one of my favorite all-time-ever devotionals is “Living the Message” (also by him). Below are excerpts from 3 different entries which I think tie into this:

“Every day I put faith on the line. I have never seen God. In a world where nearly everything can be weighed, explained, quantified…I persist in making the center of my life a God whom no eye hath seen, nor ear heard, whose will no one can probe.”

“Every day I put hope on the line. I don’t know one thing about the future. I don’t know what the next hour will hold…still, despite my ignorance…I say that God will accomplish his will and cheerfully persist in living in the hope that nothing will separate me from Christ’s love.”

“Everyday I put love on the line. There is nothing I am less good at than love. I am far better in competition than love. And yet, I decide, every day to set aside what I can do best and attempt to do what I do very clumsily – opening myself to the frustrations and failures of loving....”

From now on, when I see these collections of crosses on a wall, I will remind myself that Jesus said we each have our own personal cross and decisions to make. Sometimes I feel I can get so caught up in my own personal cross, I forget that others are struggling with how to pick up their own crosses. Seeing a “wall of crosses” is a good reminder that we are all on this journey together and sometimes it is only by the faith, love and support of God and those around us that we feel ready to pick up our own crosses.

Everyday is a new day and requires a renewed commitment that only we can make.