Similarities

How many friends do you have with the same name?  How many Joes, Adams, Marys, or Sues do you know?  Do you get confused when you try to address one of your friends who shares the same name as other friends like I do?  When you read the Bible is it confusing trying to keep people with the same name separate from others they share the name with?

One of the best-known people in the Bible is Simon Peter.  He promised to follow Jesus anywhere, promised to never deny knowing Jesus after Jesus said He would.  He did deny Him, regretted it immediately and went on to preach possibly the 2^nd greatest sermon in the Bible, Pentecost.  Simon Peter shared His name with a bystander, a passerby as the Bible puts it, simply standing in the street as Jesus passes by struggling to carry His CROSS.  Jesus falls under the weight of the CROSS, after being beaten in such a horrific manner, the Roman guards force Simon the Cyrene to carry the cross of Jesus the rest of the way.  What a request?  Honor?  Burden?  How would you have seen this request?  Would you have run as far away from the scene as you could?  Perhaps you would have also hidden?  Many have.  

As Christians, we focus on the Grace, Mercy, and Love shown to us by Jesus as He gave His life on the cross.  We often overlook the request Jesus made, the command Jesus gave in Matthew 16:24,

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

                                            

We can carry the message of the CROSS to these lost souls by supporting these two men as they walk over 2100 miles.  Perhaps you would like to share the name of Simon the Cyrene, who when called upon, took the cross and carried it.  He didn’t know the role He was being called on to play in the greatest event in the history of man.  What kind of role are you willing to play?  Are you going to run and hide, or step up and take the CROSS before you to the rest of the world?  The easy part of this process, we can do it from the comfort of our living room. 

Please join me in this endeavor, we don’t have to walk a single step, yet still help carry the Love of the CROSS as it is passing by us.  

                                                                                

Ron