34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.
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*This passage was taken from Mark 8*
- After hearing this passage again for the 32748932432nd time at Monday Night Prayer, for some reason, God put the word, "suicide", into my head. After pondering the word for a couple minutes in silence, it all made sense. When Jesus says that we are to take up our cross, the implication is that we are going to die; we must crucify ourselves. In other words, we are committing suicide - the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally especially by a person of years of discretion and of sound mind. The reasons that people commit suicide generally consist of one or more of the following: discontentment with life, disappointment, hopelessness, etc. Thus, when Jesus calls us to commit suicide and gain the new life that he offers, it is because we are discontent and disappointed with this life. It is because we realize that this life has nothing to offer, and that the lusts and passions we give our bodies over to will never be enough, that we willingly crucify our hopeless selves and live for freedom.
Jesus, open my eyes. Grant me an eternal perspective that I may see the vanity and the futility of the life I lead in this world. And, in return, allow me to live my life as a disciple unrestrained by man, culture, or selfishness.
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