Monday, September 5, 2011

Take Up Your Cross - Luke 9:23-25

This passage of scripture, at first glance, is confusing. However, the revelation contained here is incredibly liberating. The underlying concept takes us back to our creation in the Garden. Man was originally created in the image of God, pure and holy (Genesis 1:26). We viewed God and all of creation with the focus and vision of the Creator. At the moment man gave way to the desire to dethrone God and put our image in His place (Genesis 3:6), we lost the life and vision of God and now saw God and all creation through our eyes instead of God's. Everyone now sees God and creation through the lens of themselves. Everything you see is perceived through your personality (self) which is a reality that we have created for ourselves. All of our perception goes through our experiences, prejudices, and preconceptions. In other words we see God and the world around us through our eyes and not God’s. Look at Genesis 3:7, “At that moment, their eyes were opened....” (emphasis mine). In the passage in Luke, Jesus tells us that the only way that we can regain the life and vision we had before the events of the fall (Genesis 3:6-7) is to give up our selfish ways, take up our cross daily (dying daily to self), and to follow Jesus. To have clear and pure vision once again, we must dethrone ourselves and put our Creator, Jesus Christ, back on it. We must no longer look at God, this world, and others through the perception of ourselves, but through the perception of Jesus. By doing this, your heart will be purged of all evil and selfish inclinations and become pure in our motives and actions towards God, creation, and others. You will begin to see the Glory of God all around you the way you were originally created to live and see. Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are those whose hearts and pure, for they will see God.”
The concept presented in this passage is huge and spans our history from Genesis until now. I am very interested in your thoughts, questions, and ideas concerning it.

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