Buckle up, bucko…
We are going to dive into what should be a fruitful discussion on the reason for existing, and why you should live your life according to the highest ideals.
My goal for this post is twofold: to better hone my command of the written word and to establish deep thought in the discussion around responsibility, regardless of what you currently hold to be true; regardless if you are an Atheist or a Christian.
I certainly have my work cut out for me, so I’d like to present my argument with as many examples as necessary for the conversation. This also means that I will be using personal examples, biased as they may be, and will most certainly take the liberty to be very confident and decisive in what I will be talking about.
The best way to convey any meaning to another person is to embed it within a story. Storytelling speaks to the essence of what it means to be human, so I will do my best to honor this timeless tradition, with the skills that I have today.
John was a slightly below-average student. He didn’t excel at math, English, or gym class. He was always quiet, content with what came to him, for better or worse. Sometimes he would get decent grades on his report card, and other times he would forget to do assignments. John never really pushed past his faults but embraced them. Regardless of the outcome, you’d find John with a smile on his face.
Not knowing much about the world, John was happy to find a few good friends and a good video game to pass the time. Of course, like any young boy, he had dreams of his own and knew that one day he would achieve them. Despite this, he knew that ‘one day’ was so far into the future that it was of little concern to him. So little in fact that he decided to embrace his favorite video game, Final Fantasy 10.
Final Fantasy 10 is an incredible game, full of adventure, sacrifice, and celebration. It’s an emotional rollercoaster that you’d be happy going on again. The game is so addicting, and captivating, that there’s always more to be learned about it. The Aeons (beasts that the player can summon) reflect the gods of various religions, Sin (one of the main protagonists) reflects the fall of man and our sinful desires, and the religion of Yevon, all play an important role in satisfying the soul of adventure.
As John was so captivated by the game, he’d play it every day after school. Besides, John knew that his adventure was so far into the future that he may as well fantasize about one in the meantime. Even to this day John is playing it and learning more about it. The difference today is that John is finally on his adventure.
How did John’s adventure start? Better yet, why did his adventure start? No one knows for sure, but there’s speculation that it started because he knew he was meant for more. He was not satisfied with being slightly below average and somehow knew that he had an incredible life ahead of him. Funny enough, when he was growing up, he even told some of his classmates this in the form of retorts to their insults.
One day, John was sitting in class and his teacher gave a speech on his expectations for the class. This was nothing new as John heard this many times before. However, his teacher went on to explain, in great detail, what it would be like to succeed in his class. He explained that to succeed, his students must apply themselves, even if it meant challenging them beyond what they thought necessary for the curriculum. It was at this time that John’s ears perked up. He never heard of a challenge like this before, especially from a teacher. The teacher went on to explain that his class would be difficult, an adventure of sorts, with the reward being something you’ve never seen before. And so like any young eager boy would do, John accepted the challenge.
At first, the class seemed quite normal, nothing too complicated. But, as time went on, it became more and more difficult. John dedicated himself to doing the best he could, and started attending after-school classes with the teacher to continue his path to success. This is something John never thought he would be doing, but he learned a lot not only about what he was studying but also about his teacher and about life. This was the first time John realized he could apply himself to change his circumstances.
In what seemed like an eternity, finals were ‘finally’ approaching and John and his friends studied hard in the coming weeks. John never experienced such dedication to a goal before, and he was adamant about finishing the class strong. A sense of camaraderie took over the class and John was very happy to be a part of it.
The final exam came and went and before he knew it, John was looking at the highest mark he had ever received. The level of effort that went into that grade was far beyond what the average student would have put in to receive the same grade. But, John didn’t care. For the first time in his life, he realized that he was short-changing himself. He’d always taken the middle of the road when it came to school and noticed that there was so much more that he could do, that he could achieve if he just applied himself.
It was at this time that John decided to enroll in all the hardest classes he could get into. Lucky for him, he was able to switch to most of them, except Math and Calculus. And so, he was well on his way to achieving what would be his next goal: university.
John learned one of the most important life lessons in those days:
When John took responsibility for a part of his life, that part of his life grew.
I want to stop here and take a moment to recognize the teacher who made all of this possible. Unfortunately, he has since passed away. But, his memory and legacy live on:
https://www.sunsetltd.ca/obituaries/Michael-Douglas-Vaughan?obId=26482943
Jesus told his disciples,
If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ~ Matthew 16:24 ESV
At the beginning of Matthew 16, Jesus is tested by the Pharisees as they try to catch him in blasphemy. This often occurs to us when our faith is tested. Later on in the chapter, however, Jesus starts explaining his death and resurrection to his disciples.
I encourage you to read the book of Matthew for yourself, but for the time being, I will focus on this verse and a few more as we continue our journey. I want to break the verse into pieces as each section needs to be understood to understand the whole.
If anyone would want to follow Jesus, they first have to deny themself and take up their cross. The word ‘if’ is a conditional statement, meaning that we all have a choice to make. If we want to follow Jesus, then we must do something. If we don’t want to follow Jesus, then we must not do something. It’s a simple way of looking at it, but it’s this simple view that reveals the true intent behind it.
First of all, we need to understand why Jesus gives us a choice. Why would a man who claims he is God give us a choice when he could simply choose for us?
It’s here that we need to recognize that God has decided to give people free will:
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. ~ Revelation 3:20 ESV
We have the choice to open the door and invite him in when Jesus knocks. So, it’s only a matter of fact that Jesus would give us an option to follow him. That is his character.
The second piece we need to look at is the meaning behind denying yourself. To deny yourself, is to do (or not do) what exactly? Well, one way to look at it is to simply not pursue the life you want for yourself. By definition, that means that you would first have to know what life you want for yourself.
In the best case, we want the best for ourselves. We want to be healthy, wealthy, and happy. But what would it mean to deny ourselves health, wealth, and happiness?
The very fact that Jesus wants us to deny our health, wealth, and happiness suggests that we should not live for ourselves, essentially not exist for ourselves. Few people would take Jesus on his offer as it would mean a death to our hopes and dreams.
If we were to seriously consider what Jesus is saying, we would want to know what we get in exchange for giving up everything about us, wouldn’t we? Well, fortunately for us, Jesus goes on to explain what we will gain from doing so:
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ~ Matthew 16:25 ESV
Jesus states that by giving up our lives to follow him we will find life. It sounds counterintuitive, and it turns out that lots of things in life are structured as such.
The last piece I will cover is the piece about taking up your cross. What does this mean exactly? What cross are we talking about?
If you have never seen The Passion of the Christ, I highly encourage you to do so. It illustrates, in gruesome detail, the death of Christ (do note that it is rated R):
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335345
In the film, Jesus takes his cross to Calvary, to Golgotha, to the place where he will be crucified. This is not an easy scene to stomach, but I‘ve linked it below for reference:
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/bxidcuggB2A?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0
As you can see, taking up your cross meant not only carrying a burden but also the very material in which your life will end. Jesus is carrying the cross he will die on. The decision to take up your cross and follow Jesus should not taken lightly.
So, in light of what we have discussed, why should we then take up our cross?
What will we gain from doing so?
(stay tuned for part 2)