He himself takes up his own cross for us. He asks us to follow him, carrying our crosses for others.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
He insists that we put this before even our natural attachments. We are disciples even before we are sons or daughters or brothers or sisters in our earthly families. We have to be because it is not merely natural relationships that fulfill the law. Love alone fulfills the law.
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Think about it. Having a mother, father, and siblings doesn't necessarily help us fulfill the law. Sometimes they push us in the opposite direction. In spite being in an environment that functions best when we are selfless we still often choose to put ourselves first. These natural bonds must be secondary to selfless love. This love does not need to choose what is easy, what is sentimental, or what looks the nicest on a Hallmark card. It is capable of genuine tough self-sacrificial love.
Relying on our natural love in situations like this is like trying to build a tower without the materials we need. It is as if we are trying to bridge heaven and earth with our own resources. If we think it is something less than this we don't really understand just what sort of love is being asked of us. Our natural love is an army of ten thousand facing an enemy with nearly limitless resources.
Jesus wants us to lay all of that down for the love that only comes from him. He wants us to surrender our own possessions if they get in the way. He wants a love that is supernatural more than natural. If our natural love gets in the way we are called to lay it down. We are called, ultimately, to lay down all pretense at being able to do this on our own. We are called to rely entirely on his strength and not our own. This is the corrective Jesus gives to a woman in the crowd who understands correctly that Mary was blessed but does not understand why.
"Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!" But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (cf. Luk. 11:27-28).
When we surrender to Jesus and rely entirely on him he makes it possible for us to love with the love that fulfills the law, love which does no evil to our neighbor. When we lay down our own meager strength at his feet we experience the blessedness that comes from living on his strength, and not only we, but those around us.
He dawns through the darkness, a light for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice.
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