Blogocentric Formulations

Take Up Your Cross - February 15, 2022

PROMPT: Write about the hymn, Wherever He Leads I'll Go ▼

Take up thy cross and follow Me
I heard my Master say
I gave My life to ransom thee
Surrender your all today

Wherever He leads I'll go
Wherever He leads I'll go
I'll follow my Christ who loves me so
Wherever He leads I'll go

He drew me closer to His side
I sought His will to know
And in that will I now abide
Wherever He leads I'll go

It may be through the shadows dim
Or o'er the stormy sea
I take my cross and follow Him
Wherever He leadeth me

My heart my life my all I bring
To Christ who loves me so
He is my Master Lord and King
Wherever He leads I'll go

One of the things I find most compelling about the Christian faith is the knowledge that you're not perfect. That you don't have all the answers, that you're going to make mistakes, that you will ultimately fall short of the example that Jesus sets. And yet, God still loves you anyway, no matter how messy you might be.

If I'm being totally honest with myself, prayers and hymns like this terrify me a little. I know the idea of going wherever He leads you is supposed to be one of the cornerstones of our faith, but would you actually go anywhere? I love my life. If He told me to move to Uganda to help reach unchurched people on another continent, would I be brave enough to do that? If He told me to sell all my worldly possessions and give all that money to the church and live on nothing but faith that He would continue to provide one day at a time, would my faith be strong enough to allow me to do that?

I know intellectually that this is literally the point of faith. To trust in God's provision and goodness so profoundly that you grow closer to Him. But in a real world where there is rent and bills to pay, kids to clothe and feed, and a whole lot of other daily rhythms some of which I enjoy (I actually like my job! I like my house!), it's hard not to want to hold a little something back to insulate yourself against losing those things. It's hard to trust so fully in God that you do little to weather the storms of life on your own. My parents, particularly my father, raised me to always be self-reliant and to take care of both myself and my family, so it's a little counterintuitive for me to turn around and say, "Sure, I'll throw all that caution and preparedness to the wind and just trust that God will work it all out."

There's also something to be said about God working in your life in different ways.

One of my favorite parables is the one where a devout man is stranded on the roof of his house during a flood. It's been told a thousand ways before, but it goes a little something like this:

A devout man lives in a town beset by a flood. He retreats to his roof, surrounded by rising waters all around him.

As the waters keep rising, a boat comes by. The man declines help and says, "My God will save me!"

So the boat leaves and a little while later, another boat passes by. The man again says, "I have faith that my God will save me!"

After that boat leaves, a helicopter with a rescue team comes to him. Once again, the man refuses. "My faith is strong! My God will save me!"

The helicopter leaves and eventually the man drowns. When he finds himself in Heaven in the presence of God, he's angry and demands to know why God had forsaken him. "Why didn't you answer my prayers and intervene to save me?"

God: "I sent you two boats and a helicopter!"

It kind of raises a bit of a conundrum, doesn't it? How much are we supposed to trust God's in future provision versus the provision he's already blessed us with?

And I also know that not everyone is called to such radical acts of service. The truth is that most people are called to serve in their own communities in their own ways within their means. But I have a fair number of friends who have been called into radical acts. Church planters who have left the USA to plant churches abroad. Brazilian ministry friends who moved to Mozambique to live on mission for three years. People who have felt called to sell everything they own and live radically simpler lives. So it's not just a theoretical question for me. I've seen God call people to do the kind of stuff that scares the heck out of me.

Ultimately, this will be something I probably struggle with most of my life. The push and pull between me wanting to exert control over my life, and letting Him lead the way. I have no problem letting Him lead in the mundane, or within the confines that I've constructed for my life. But following Him also means "taking up your cross" (it's such a prevalent theme it's literally a line in this hymn AND the name of the blog group I borrowed this prompt from!). And that ain't exactly an easy or pleasant process. The real challenge - and I sure hope I'm not alone in this - is going to be letting Him lead in profound ways, when that path takes me outside of the comfortable life I've constructed for myself.