Never forget that despite
its difficulties, it is a privilege to carry the cross of Christ.
We all have moments when we lose focus. Recently
this has been a struggle for me as a follower of Jesus. According to Matthew 16:24 these are the requirements: If any
man will come after me he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow
me. It is easy to say, yet so hard
to do.
Just a few weeks ago on Friday, April 19th
my family and I had the privilege to volunteer at an Andrew Peterson concert,
joined by special guests the band, Caleb.
The concert was held at the Shrine of St. Anthony’s, a place of solitude
and serenity located in Ellicott City, Maryland. Our job was to hang out in the lobby and
represent Show Hope, an organization which helps orphans and also supports
adoption.
Although there for a noble cause I learned some very
profound things I wasn’t looking to find. That night I observed three
references to the cross given by a caretaker, a daughter’s mother and a
singer.
1-The cross
reminds me to give my all to Jesus
The first person I met when we arrived was the
curator, Joe. Before the concert began
he gave me a brief tour of the beautiful monastery where the concert was to be
held. While he showed me around he
explained that St. Anthony’s was built in 1931 and was a replica of similar
structure in Italy. It was during this time that he showed me the crucifix that
at one time resided in Babe Ruth’s orphanage in Baltimore.
In Joe I had met a man whose occupation consists of
service. He job is to help friars and
monks who care very little about the outside world and its influences. However, from what I could gather, he took
some risk to bring a Christian Contemporary singer like Andrew Peterson into
such a revered place. Conversely he never revealed to me why he brought Andrew
to such a small venue, where only two hundred or so people could comfortably
fit. The only connection he mentioned seemed
to be they were both from North Florida, which Joe told me more than once.
During the concert I snuck in the back and found an
empty seat next to Joe. No one seemed to
be enjoying the concert more than he. As
we sat together my eyes caught something in the background in the dimly lit
room, directly behind the band words were written boldly over an archway right
over Andrew Peterson’s head. God had framed it so the light captured this
phrase like a snapshot: May I
never boast of anything but the cross…
There was more but that was all I could make out in
the dim light. Yet, it spoke volumes to
me as I sat next to the curator I hardly knew and for reasons unknown to me was
willing to take a chance and bring performers into a sanctuary that may be
louder than what was appropriate. Yet he did it anyway.
Joe reminds
me to give it all, like Christ on the cross.
2-The
need to lay it all down at the cross
Our contact for the evening was a perky young woman who works for Show Hope, who I will call Sandy.
During the concert my wife and I began to chat with her as we shared about our two
trips to China and her time there as well.
There was something endearing about her candor with
folks she didn’t really know, except we were joined but the fact we all had a
heart for the orphans. Sandy even revealed that her favorite color is mustard
yellow, after my youngest daughter revealed hers was purple, Then, she began to
reveal her heart and began to share about her mom.
Sandy's mom sounds like a truly remarkable person
worthy of admiration, even though I have never met her. Somehow through her daughter’s stories I
feel as though I have met her. She went on to
explain that her mom had always wanted to travel, but never got the
opportunity. In essence she did travel
vicariously through her kids. One lives overseas,
one lives on the coast, and her daughter has been to China. Her cross was preparing her kids to do what
she dreamed of doing and never got to do.
This sacrifice reminded me of the movie, Passion of
the Christ. Each year at Easter I watch
it looking for something new to take away from it. This year what stood out was Mary, the mother
of Jesus. More precisely it was the
scene with Mary kneeling at the cross while Jesus hung dying. The pain in her eyes told me if she could
have, she would have traded places with him or better yet taken him home. Yet, she knew she could not have what she
desired. So,
Mary laid down what she wanted in obedience to God the Father.
Sandy's mom is a great reminder of what a mother
will do for her kids and shouldn’t we all be willing to lay it all down at the
cross for those we love.
3-
The need to humbly bear our cross.
The first time I met Andrew Peterson two years ago
left an indelible impression on me. It
was about eleven o’clock at night in a church parking lot as my family and I
were leaving the concert. There was Andrew
Peterson singing cross legged on the sidewalk giving a free personal concert
for a handful of fans who were still hanging around. His actions reminded me of something Jesus
would have done with his disciples.
On April 19th I was reminded yet again of
how followers should act like Jesus. When
Andrew spoke, at least to me, his voice sounded like someone who had been with
Jesus. He reminded me of a modern day disciple, mind you not someone who had it
all figured out. When he spoke and when he sang there was a special tone that
came through that was entirely genuine.
It made my ears perk up, he wasn’t yelling at me; rather he was offering
loving advice. He even mentioned how he
was tired of feeling guilty and that God was constantly out to get him.
The fact he reminded me of a disciple was ironic
because his name Andrew Peterson is comprised of two disciples’ names: Andrew
and Peter and better yet they were brothers.
So, his name is quite suitable.
This time before the concert began I personally got
to meet him. It was through the privilege of loaning him my
raincoat and holding the door for him during a rainstorm. His demeanor was that of a humble man. He did not ask someone else to get wet on
his behalf, nor did he complain that my old raincoat was falling apart at the seams,
which it was. He epitomizes for me what someone who bears his cross and follows
after Jesus should look like. Not
someone chasing success but rather the Savior.
Through his refreshing honesty Andrew reminds us of
the need to humbly bear our cross.
When people see us,
let out lives speak boldly these words: May I never boast of anything but the
cross…..
Swavel
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