Why we must never be ashamed of our cross

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 1 Thessalonians

The backdrop t this scene is in the home of 2 elementary age children. Dad is in the kitchen when his little girl comes to ask dad a question.

"Daddy," she asks in her little girl voice, " have you seen my little shiny necklace cross you and mommy gave me?

Dad momentary stops his sandwich making routine to give his attention to his daughter.
"I think I saw it on your bookcase sweetie".  She turn's around, but before doing so runs back to give her dad a hug.

Moments later little Melissa returns to the kitchen with her small shimmery cross now hanging from her neck. Then she noticed something else until now didn't grab her attention. She sees a slightly larger cross that didn't seem as nice as hers sitting on the counter.

"Daddy, why is your cross not as nice as the one I'm wearing?"
Dad looks at his cross with all of it's dents as though each one had a story to tell.

"Do you remember that song you sang in Sunday school with the words 'Jesus loves me yes I know for the bible tells me so?"
Melissa is filled with excitement with those words, " I love that song!" Daddy bends down at Melissa eye level. " The cross, sweetie, is a reminder of how much Jesus loves you and me and why we must never be ashamed of it"

Melissa looked at the size of her daddy's cross and at all of the worn marks on it and how pretty her cross was in  comparison. " Daddy, why is your cross so much uglier than my pretty one?" Dad looked at his cross which was resting against the wall." Well, sweetie, daddy has had more life experience, some good an some bad, and daddy's cross is a reminder how God helped me survive those hard times.

Suddenly, he woke up in a heavy dose of perspiration. He had had a dream of his now deceased daughter. He glanced at the now heavier cross leaning against the closet doors. Life over these past 8 years hasn't been easy. His grief has been filled with days filled with endless tears and sad memories that flood back at times to his mind.

Yet, he was proud that he kept his family together attending church each Sunday, encouraging his wife and son to press on and keep their faith and love for Jesus Christ alive. He drifted back to sleep In his dream sleep he was alone in his car driving on a 2 lane road.  He began to see abandoned crosses sitting by the side of the road as though they began a journey with someone only to be discarded at the first sight of trouble.

 Then he saw individuals in a wide array of distress.

One middle age man stood by himself on the shoulder holding a sign with the words, ' I no longer believe in God because my parents were murdered.

 Then a little further along he saw a twenty something young man holding a sign that read, "I am a atheist because people have hurt me.'

  Then over on the right side of the road a family of four held their sign with the words ' We won't believe in God because God took our child.'

Occasionally on this route he noticed a few people slowly pulling their crosses who refused to give up their faith.

One young man held a sign that read ' I am trusting that God even in the face of my cancer diagnosis.'

  One older woman looked particularly troubled as she pulled her cross with all her strength along this road, but when he passed by her, her lips seem to say,  'praise Jesus for all my trials. Why some people abandon their crosses while others grow stronger in their faith, in the face of tragedy, remains a mystery to me. My faith was built on a solid foundation based on the prayer I made as a 18 year old young man in high school. I ventured into my decision knowing full well that life would be filled with disappointments and tragedy, but through it all God never abandoned me.

The alarm clock went off waking him from his sleep. He slowly got out of bed, did some stretches, as he often did and he gave praise to God for another day of life. 

As he grieved, this dad never lost the hope in Christ that no matter how difficult the days can be with this form of grief that Jesus would never abandon him.  As he made his way to the kitchen he passed the refrigerator that had a couple of bible verses that served as reminders of God never forsaking him. 

He glanced over at his cross filled with the stories of how God brought him through life's difficult moments.He knew that it will be those stories that point others to Jesus. 

 He momentarily glanced at Melissa's picture and knew that while he wishes he could have his daughter back she was in this new place called heaven enjoying the time of her life with the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ. 

For him, he knew that his journey is not yet complete because he needs to share his stories of God's redeeming grace to others experiencing life's difficult moments.