The True Message of the Cross: A Call to Radical Discipleship #1825

The True Message of the Cross: A Call to Radical Discipleship If Jesus preached as preachers do today, He’d walk the earth, unmarked, unscorned, For soft words soothe, but truth's flames burn, A message watered down, love forlorn. Deny yourself, take up your cross, A path of thorns, not paved in gold, Daily bearing sacrifice, In Christ's embrace, be brave and bold. To save your life, you'll lose it here, But find it in the loss, reborn, The cross, a symbol, power clear, Through pain and death, new life is sworn. A gospel of prosperity May blind and chain the seeking soul, Yet true freedom lies in suffering, In giving all to be made whole. The foolishness of cross's tale, To perishing, a jest, a joke, But to the saved, it’s power unveiled, In every scar, God’s love invoked. To know Him is to share His pain, His death, His life, His rise again, In every wound, in every chain, His light shines through, our hearts to mend. Crucified with Christ, I live, Not I, but He who dwells in me, In faith, in love, I rise to give, A living sacrifice, set free. The call to follow, pure and clear, A call to love, to serve, to die, In Christ’s own steps, we persevere, For in His cross, true life we find. -Steven G. Lee (June 19, 2024)