The Way of the Cross

My wife and I will use this phrase from time to time, "The Way of the Cross..." We will use it in sentences like, "The best way to go is the way of the cross..." or "I have just decided that I am going to go the way of the cross..."

But what are we really saying?

We asked ourselves this question the other day when things weren't turning out quite right in a situation. Was this way of the cross really what we were hoping it would be? Now that we are thinking about it, did the way of the cross end up all that well?

We know that ultimately it does, but what about in the here and now? Doesn't the way of the cross lead to ... a ... well to a cross? Isn't there a certain amount of sacrifice and death associated with His way? Maybe that is why Jesus said, "...take up your cross daily, die to self, and follow me..."

Well, this isn't meant to be a long drawn out post, full of in-depth explanations, so I will get right to it:

Following after Jesus, and doing things His way doesn't always look so pretty and so spiritual. Sometimes it is messy and challenging and sometimes there is a cross there. A cross where you have to die. Loving your enemies requires a little bit of that kind of death. So does showing joy in trials and reigning in your tongue and choosing to overcome your fear with love and working hard as if you were working for the Lord and being meek and humble and...

But. But there is not other way.

And in the end... What a wonderful way it truly is.

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The Minnesota Crime Commission wrote:

Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered. He wants what he wants when he wants it: his bottle, his mother's attention, his playmate's toys, his uncle's watch, or whatever. Deny him these and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness which would be murderous were he not so helpless. He's dirty, he has no morals, no knowledge, no developed skills. This means that all children, not just certain children but all children, are born delinquent. If permitted to continue in their self-centered world of infancy, given free reign to their impulsive actions to satisfy each want, every child would grow up a criminal, a thief, a killer, a rapist.

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