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Luke 14:25-34 (The Message)

25-27 One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, "Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one's own self!—can't be my disciple. Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can't be my disciple.

28-30"Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn't first sit down and figure the cost so you'll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you're going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: 'He started something he couldn't finish.'

31-32"Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can't, won't he send an emissary and work out a truce?

33"Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple.

34"Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it's useless, good for nothing.

"Are you listening to this? Really listening?"

As I've grown older, and maybe a tiny bit wiser in my life, I've become convinced of a few foundational truths.

One is that we humans are always drawn, through some magnetic pull of our own brokenness and sin, toward the famous "path of least resistance." Left to our own devices, we will flow without fail, like water and electricity, through whatever most easily conducts our attention.

But following this man Jesus has to change all of that. Or, at least, following him holds that potential for our lives.

All of us have to make decisions, every single day. For a believer, those decisions are re-framed by the crucified, resurrected rabbi that we follow.

Jesus was clear with the crowd that trailed him, perhaps more for free food and miracle-gawking than for a new way of life. "If you'll be following me," he says, "you'll need one of these." Picking up the cross, we walk in his steps.

Whatever your "cross" today, pick it up. Carry it joyfully, walking behind the one who gives strength for the journey. The cross is not the end of the path, but it's the only way to get there. On the other side there is resurrection, love, joy and peace.

Christians believe that Jesus can redeem any situation, even our own.

Prayer: Father, we do not understand all that it may truly mean to follow Jesus. May we pick up the cross and follow him to resurrection and new life.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end, Amen.

Tomorrow's Scripture: Philemon 1-7