The Road, Part 2

Why would Jesus say to take up my cross and follow Him unless He meant for me to follow Him down the same road he walked? The only image that I can conjure up is that of Jesus on the Via Dolorosa. This is the road that He willingly walked in order to give up His human life so that true life may abound.

This is what I believe He calls me to do – to lay down what I think is my life so that Jesus may give me a new life.

In my life, I have occasionally thought of the road of faith as a journey of quiet comfort. Yet, the road that Jesus took was not a road of comfort. So if He truly means for me to follow Him, perhaps He is challenging my sense of comfort. Maybe my “cross” is my comfortable life I hold so dear, and maybe I am called to follow Him into the unknown.

I picture Jesus on the Via Dolorosa. We often imagine Jesus fainting and stumbling as He slowly made His way. Beaten and chastised constantly, He continued moving forward even though He could’ve stopped this all at any point. This was the most grueling road that anyone has taken in history of the world, yet Jesus did not relent. He finished what He was born to do.

Why, then, would Jesus – who loves us so much – ask us to follow Him down this kind of road?

I think it is because of the victory that is at the end of the road. Truly, it is the only road which ends in victory. Yes, it ends in death, but so does every other road in human history. Only Jesus’ road ends in life. Perhaps He wants us to see that even when we choose comfort, it is short-lived. Death is imminent for each of us. Whether we give our lives completely over to Jesus or not, our lives will be taken from us just the same. The difference is whether we ever experienced true life, true joy, true freedom.

I am afraid I am not doing justice to what I want to say about following Jesus. In an extended metaphor, I had hoped to convey an image that would help us see that being a Christian is more than a title we give ourselves. It implies action – the action of following Christ. In picturing our faith as a road, maybe we will realize that a commitment to Jesus is just the beginning of a daily journey with Him. It is a journey that challenges us every step of the way, but with every step, Jesus holds our hand if we allow Him to do so.

I also admit that I have aimed to challenge each of us to shun complacency in our walk with Christ. There is nothing in the life of Jesus which leads me to believe comfort in this lifetime should be a priority. Perhaps Jesus is challenging you the way I feel challenged. And perhaps not.

But if so, I promise you that Jesus will be with you every step of the way to lead you down the road He already walked for us. And not only Jesus, but the community of Christians who are also making our way down this road. It is outside our comfort zones that trusting relationships develop – those with Jesus and those with other Christians. It is when we are stretched that we are in need, and when we are in need that we learn to trust Jesus and our brothers and sisters to help us.

I have lived all of my life in a place of self-reliance. It is as if I trust only myself to provide for me. But Jesus is showing me that this road is about trusting Him to provide for me. After all, God clothes the lilies and He'll take care of me.

With Love,
a young shepherd.