Jesus was willing to sacrifice everything out of love for the world. He took upon himself the punishment for our sins so that we might know God personally for all eternity. Through his death and resurrection, he enables us to have an intimate relationship with him.<\/p>\n
Jesus opened the way for us to know him, but it's up to us to make the choice whether or not to follow him.<\/p>\n
\u00abIf anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it. \u00bb Mark 8:34\u201335 S21<\/strong><\/p>\n What it means to take up one's cross<\/strong> ?<\/p>\n For Jesus, the cross was a real object on which he suffered and gave his life. It was the physical representation of the spiritual burden he bore.<\/p>\n The cross also represents the suffering and sacrifices we choose to endure out of love and obedience to Christ.<\/p>\n The apostles viewed suffering as an opportunity to draw closer to Jesus. In contrast, our cultures portray suffering as an obstacle to immediate pleasure. Jesus affirmed that giving our lives to him is essential, for he is the way to eternal life. However, the world claims that taking care of ourselves is the key to a life of abundance.<\/p>\n Taking up your cross means giving up your desire to live your life as you see fit. It means letting Jesus guide the course of your life and making him your priority.<\/p>\n Paradoxically, refusing to take up your cross and follow Jesus will not spare you from suffering. Difficulties will always be there. And in the end, you will give up Jesus\u2019 eternal promises in exchange for a few fleeting moments of pleasure and comfort.<\/p>\n Carrying your cross is something you do on this side of eternity. But one day, you will be resurrected and you will have a new life\u2014free from tears, suffering, death, and pain. To live eternally in God\u2019s presence\u2014that is the promise Jesus makes to you when He asks you to follow Him. That is the life you can look forward to when you give your life to Jesus.<\/p>\n Pastor Cl\u00e9mentine<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Obedience to Christ<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-enseignements-biblique"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t