By Margaret Ogbebor SSMA
“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Christianity calls for self-denial, by self-denial I mean do away with attitudes, behaviour and dealings that are not in accordance with the Christian faith. Christianity calls for discipline and self-sacrifice. Since our master who is our exemplar suffered was crucified and died, we too in one way or the other will likewise share in his suffering. Jesus did not promise a rosy life to his followers but he promises them a happy end if they are able to endure to the end. “Those who endure to the end would be saved” (Matthew 24:13). Endurance is one of the key to salvation. Renunciation help us as Christians to do away with things that are against our Christian calling, the so called extravagant life style that do not give glory to God should be put aside because they serve as distraction to our salvation.
To be a true disciple of Christ, there is need for us to carry our crosses. These crosses we carry make us partakers in the sufferings of Christ. “No cross no crown”. Crosses are symbols of sufferings. They are not pleasant or palatable situations but they serve as our pathway to salvation. Crosses come to us in various ways such as crisis in the family, setbacks in businesses, and sickness among others. Crisis in the family occur when the husband and wife no longer understand themselves. The period of crisis in marriage is not easy especially when one of the parties begin to bridge the contract it will affect the other party negatively. Most of the time if care is not taken it would even lead to the separation of the family. In some families their crosses may not come from both parents it may even be the children who are wayward, stubborn and arrogant, if their behaviour is becoming an eye saw to the extent that it is bringing shame to the family, it could be referred to as a cross. Negative attitude of the children can also serve as crosses to the family. When situations like these occur such families should not avoid or run away from it they should be very careful in dealing with the matter. They need to think deep and reflect to really identify the bone of contention and after that, back it up with prayers. Our crosses should lead us closer to God and not take us away from God; He is the only one that has solution to every problem.
However, setbacks in businesses can even be our cross. In a situation whereby we have tried everything and nothing seem to be working, we have used all the strategies that we have, applied all the techniques we acquired from different seminars and nothing is changing when situations like this occur there is need to call on God instead of seeking help where there is no help. Some persons would even promise you solution which is temporal all because they have no power to bring you lasting solution. Once your business stops flourishing it will cause you pain and becomes a cross that you need to carry. Carrying this type of cross is not easy because it is a pain, a thorn in the flesh when situation like this happen the best solution is to go for counselling and back it up with prayer. Our crosses should draw us closer to God who has all it takes to solve our problems.
Another cross most people carry is the cross of sickness. Many a time sickness has forced a lot of people to do a lot of things and even seek help where there is no help. Some people have abandoned their faith and their God due to the fact that they felt that God refused to help them when they needed Him most. They see the cross of sickness as a burden too much to bear and they have decided to give up. As Christians we should not behave like those who do not have hope. We should always remember that God’s plans for us are for good and not for evil (Jeremiah 29:11). He wants us to come with all our problems and tribulations because He is capable of taking care of them, He says “Come to me all you who labour and are over laden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11: 28-29). For us Christians, Jesus is our burden bearer no matter how heavy our burden may be he has the shock absorber to carry every load. He made it open to all who are passing through hard times to come to him and have rest so that they can be burden free and be happy again. It is in God alone that we can really get the rest we desire from our troubles.
Furthermore, it is advisable for us to accept whatever cross that is sent to us by God be it in the family, business, sickness or otherwise. These crosses are pathway through which we find God our creator but on the other hand there are some crosses we carry that are self-inflicted, for instance sickness as a result of beautification of the body resulting to cancer, this kind of cross cannot gain any merit because it is not from God but self-inflicted due to the fact that we want to change what God has already created to suit our own selfish ambition and desire. There are also crosses that are inflicted on us by the wickedness of this world, this type of crosses are not from God, we are expected to reject and rebuke such crosses so that we would not be suffering for nothing. With prayers and the help of God those crosses inflicted on us by the wickedness of this world would disappear and we would be happy again. We need to be firm and remain focused because “he who puts his hands on the plough and look backwards is not fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Fortitude is the virtue we need to really carry our crosses.
To identify a particular issue as your cross you must have tried all you can and still no solution, you have no choice but to surrender to the will of God. Then you begin to ask God for His grace in carrying your cross. “Three times I prayed to the Lord about this and asked Him to take it away. But His answer was my grace is all you need. For my strength is made perfect in weakness… (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).
As Christians, each and every one of us has our own crosses to carry. There is no one that is without a cross because it is part of our rudiments for salvation. All we need is to ask God for the grace to carry our crosses happily and joyfully without complaining. Remember “when the king of glory appears we will be crowned with the crown of unfailing glory” (1 Peter 5:).
Sr Margret Ogbebor SSMA is a Catholic Nun, working in the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto. She is the Head Teacher of St Martin de Porres Nursery and Primary School Katsina. [email protected]
