If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
(Luke 9:23 NRSV)
Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz once said, "I've been on the top and I've been on the bottom. At Arkansas my first year, we won the Orange Bowl. Then everybody loved me. "They put me into the Arkansas Hall of Fame and issued a commemorative stamp in my honor. The next year we lost to Texas, and they had to take away the stamp, because people kept spitting on the wrong side of it. Life is full of highs and lows, and for many of us it is hard to be humble. But when we deny our own pleasures and desires, and put God first, then we begin to understand what is really important. Being filled with God's desires of love and hope.

Jesus tells us today, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." The cross here is a very important symbol. Carrying the cross means we carry a burden of helping others, it means God is important, it means we have hope, it means we have forgiveness, it means we use our financial resources to help others, and it means we want to share God's love, forgiveness, and hope with our family, our friends, and our co-workers.

When we deny ourselves, we put God first.

Dear Jesus, you gave up so much for me. Now, guide me as I deny my wishes for yours. Amen.

Ron Newhouse

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