Mark 15:21: Simon from Cyrene happened to be coming in from a farm, and they forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.
To live crucified lives is to live the life of Simon of Cyrene who was compelled to bear the cross and later joined the mission of the Kingdom. Our calling sometimes comes in unexpected ways and times. And when it does come, you do not need to be perfect to carry it, but we must be willing to seek out the Son of God and be where he is. We are to bow before the cross in order to bear it.
It is true that our hearts do not willingly submit to that blessed cross. Sometimes we are first compelled to bear it before we humbly desire its beauty and grace. Bearing the cross is no easy task. It is draining, tiring, and exhausting. Fathers and mothers, and friends know how hard it is to serve one another in the Name of Jesus when the cross comes at inconvenient times; when the future is uncertain. But it’s precisely at such times when this call makes the Lenten journey so compellingly engaging. We may not always want the cross, but no one has ever regretted a cruciform life.
Lent drains our dependence on self and calls us to look to Another for aid. As Watts so powerfully reminds us:
When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.
Prayer: Merciful Father, I feel hopeless and helpless and your cross seems always too hard and heavy to bear. But beneath your cross is the only refuge I have. Give me a willingness to follow after you and seek the joys of your blessed tree through your holy name, amen.
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