1 week Ago
The moment I had dreaded for nearly a year had finally come. The medical assistant didn’t say a word as she quietly recorded the number. It wasn’t good.
I knew it. Now she knows it. And soon, the doctor would as well.
Oh, I had meant to lose the weight. I really did. At my physical last year, I had committed to the doctor to reverse the trend and lose (at least) 5 pounds.
But the scale now stood before me as though mocking, calling out my failure. I wish I could say this was my first attempt, but sadly, the doctor and I had had this conversation before. This time, I had even joined the gym with my wife — and had gone — at least twice last month.
But the voiceless “lie detector” before me, with its weights sliding across the beam at the top, revealed the truth: I had not been very committed to the task. Yes, I know that losing weight is important for my health, and it is certainly on my “to-do” list ..
. somewhere. I believe it is in that cluster with other important tasks, such as visiting my urologist and getting a colonoscopy.
But each year, my doctor reminds me that my commitment needs to be elevated. Similarly, my commitment to Jesus Christ has been challenged over this past Lenten and Easter season. The Gospels declare that Jesus gave His life sacrificially on a cross to redeem mankind, providing a bridge out of sin and death back to the presence of and into a relationship with God.
Forgiveness and acceptance are now available as a gift to anyone who believes in the person and work of Jesus. Yes, the gift is given without cost, but experiencing the fullness of that gift requires something of us. Jesus’ call in Matthew 16:24 presents that cost: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.
” We frequently interpret this to mean we must endure the challenges and difficulties of life. If we have financial struggles ..
. health challenges ..
. broken relationships ..
. we assume these are our “crosses to bear.” But the cross was something very different to subjects in a first-century Roman province.
It was recognized for what it was: a brutal instrument of execution, terror, and forced submission. And it was a one-way trip. No exits.
No reprieves. No one got off alive. Crucifixion was a humiliating means of capital punishment used for enemies of the state.
It served as a public spectacle to humiliate and punish the condemned and to deter subjects from committing treasonous acts. Of this tortuous tool, A.W.
Tozer noted, “The cross of Roman times knew no compromise; it never made concessions. It won all its arguments by killing its opponent and silencing him for good.” It is from this perspective we must hear the words of Jesus: “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me.
” His call was a bid unto a “death of self.” It meant the setting aside of self-centered living and of personal ambition and living a life focused solely on bringing glory to God. We have just come through the Easter season with its high celebration of Jesus’ victory over sin and death.
Amidst it all, the cross of Jesus was front and center. But as the celebrations fade, we need to challenge ourselves to embrace its meaning in our lives. Galatians 2:20 summarizes this: “My old self has been crucified with Christ.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Regarding commitments, I have set this one before me as the priority of my life.
But losing those 5 pounds, maybe I’ll just buy one of those fake, imprinted muscle-man shirts and call it a day. Rick Sergi served for the past 10 years as senior pastor at Emmanuel E.C.
Church, Bethlehem. He is now a district field director for the Evangelical Congregational Church, overseeing 13 churches in the Lehigh Valley area. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author, and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication.
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