We read stories from the Bible about Jesus’ interactions with the marginalized and rejected. We hear of his love and goodness and the tenderness he bestowed on the dregs of society. We are called to “look after orphans and widows...” (James 1:27). At some point, many of us have been in a place of loneliness, pain, rejection, poverty, hopelessness or desperation, only to be pulled out of our sorrow and shame and set free by the grace of God. Amen.
But so easily, we forget our moments and seasons of desperately clinging to the Lord. We dismiss the DAILY goodness of God as he continues to provide for every need. We tire of the manna and try to gather more than we can consume because we have already forgotten that he was sufficient the year, the week, the moment before.
The Bible tells us to pick up our cross DAILY and follow Him. (Luke 9:23) For some, this calls us to daily fight against our flesh and the sins that try to bind as we continually turn our eyes and hearts back to God. (2Cor. 10:5) For some, this calls us to faithfully walk alongside someone else fighting an uphill battle, to support or pray ceaselessly for someone else in need.(1Thes.5:16-18) For all of us this is a call to humility – to recognize that we are all sinners, lost and alone apart from God, broken in our sin and unable to save ourselves.
As we pick up our cross today, let’s ask the Lord to reveal people and needs around us and be willing to let God work through us to help meet those needs. Let us fall heavy on his grace as we strive to live like Jesus: to show truth, love and compassion to all God’s children, especially those most overlooked and most at-risk.