Where we stare, we'll steer
For quite awhile I have been fixated on the story in Matthew 16 where Jesus tells his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." I keep wondering to myself, did the disciples really understood the weight behind Jesus mentioning the cross and what it stood for. Lest we forget that in those times the Romans used the cross as a brutal and humiliating form of capital punishment. It was meant to be used against non-Romans, slaves, and criminals. It was used to instill fear into those who committed crimes and those who were thought to have incited opposition to the Roman rule. But somehow in the 2000 plus years of history since Jesus' crucifixion, many Christians, (myself included) have adopted the cross as a symbol of salvation and hope for an eternal life. The fact is that the cross itself really had no power or say in its role, it was merely the vehicle used to bring about God's intent in the whole ordeal. The...