The cross is the central theme in Christian Faith; that one
died for all therefore, all died. The cross symbolizes living or laying down
oneself for others.
Jesus lived not for himself; He came not for Himself and
died not for his sins, but He came for us and died for our sins. If Jesus had
lived for himself, we would have remained helpless or dead in our sins and
trespasses. On the cross, ‘self’ was crucified, Cainite’s nature or philosophy;
“am I my brother’s keeper” was put to death to restore a caring community of
God’s people.
Jesus clearly said, “If anyone desire to come after me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matt 16:24). In other
words, living for others rather than yourself.
Denying oneself is a difficult thing to do; Neither did Jesus
find the cross easy but He overcame by saying “…nevertheless not my will, but
yours, be done.” It is the greatest sacrifice, the hardest way but the only
way. He has called us to follow Him, and has promised to give grace to those
who are willing to obey Him. It is God’s will not just to bless and individual
but all people. In this light, Apostle Paul said, “I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice….” (Rom 12:1).
So, when we look at the cross, it does not just remind us of
God’s forgiveness and His love for us but our responsibility to forgive and
love others as God has loved us. The bible says “By this we know love, because
He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the
brethren” (I John 3:16). Love provides, protects and preserves.
To us, this is what the cross means. It is not just a
religious symbol but a way of life, it is a daily responsibility and Jesus
insist we must carry it and follow Him. This means we can’t be the followers of
Jesus if we are not responsible to our neighbor or those who are need, this is
the cross Jesus said we must carry in order to follow Him.
If you visit Christian Faith Ministries, on the Church wall beside
the entrance door, you will see the picture of Jesus crucified. We are not just
being religious by putting it beside the door, but we are simply saying the
cross is our life; it means we are following Jesus by laying down our lives or
looking out for our neighbors in need.
We have hundreds of Children from poor families that are either
financially or socially displaced from their comfort zones. It is a heavy task
to take care of them but it is the cross we must carry; Jesus our mentor says
we must carry in other to follow Him. We want to follow Jesus by putting smiles
on windows faces, homeless Children and many the Lord will bring our way.
You can join us, together we will follow Jesus by rebuilding
communities, people or hopeless Children. Jesu said “…Assuredly, I say to you,
inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to
me.”
We thank God for those who are already following Jesus with
Christian Faith Ministries by supporting Christian Faith Ministries in reaching
out the needy and are even willing to do more.
Continue to pray for Christian Faith Ministries that God
will bring more laborers for greater impact.
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