My Brother on the Cross

If you want to follow Jesus, you have to weigh the cost and carry your cross.

If you want to stand by the oppressed and the estranged, hold their hands and tell them they are highly valued and loved, then you will have to be ready to be rejected, persecuted, stoned and crucified. There is no power but that of genuine divine love that can not only make us endure that pain, but make us seek it, because we find it very sweet and satisfying.

What happens on the cross seems like painful but it promises great joy. Therefore, I rejoice in the dissolving of the hatred of my enemies in the fiery flames of sacrificial love. I rejoice with my brothers and sisters who are rejected by many for the sake of a love that seems strange to estranged human understanding, but has the power to deliver, has the power to save and set captives free.

There will be no more oppression after the cross treatment, no more enemies after blessing every single one, no more tears after the finger of God wipes every single one away, no more strangers after every single one is adopted and accepted as genuine sons in the Father's house.

But until that day, we march on. Through the dark shadows of fear, a light beaming from far promises victory and glory. The echo of a cheering crowd gives us the assurance that we are not in this by ourselves, but a large family awaits us, on the other side. We march on having our eyes fixed on our Big Brother, Jesus, who endured the shame of the cross for us and defeated death for us. We march on the same Way that multitudes marched on before us, those who were slaughtered like innocent sheep, those who were laughed at and spat at, those who were abused and looked down upon, we walk on the same path of victory. The same path of the poor, the thirsty and the meek.

Thank you, sweet Jesus! I love you so much... Thank you for loving me so much. Thank you for living my holy life, thank you for dying my death, thank you for resurrecting me and including me in your great glory. What a friend and what a Big Brother we have!... that He would give His life for us.