Discipleship has a cost - Life
Matthew 16: 24-26
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it. Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life.
Dear God,
life is precious.
Day and daily we hear and read of lives lost,
lives held cheap –
in garment factories in Bangladesh,
diamond mines in Africa,
construction sites in Dubai –
profit for some
at the cost of others,
at any cost.
There are boats full of desperate refugees,
lorries carrying trafficked people,
lavish lifestyles hiding slavery below stairs –
people as commodities,
traded,
demeaned,
disposable.
All these people are precious to someone,
and precious to you.
Life is not for throwing away,
but for nurturing,
and its careless loss is to weep for.
Life is precious –
so when we dedicate it to you,
use it up in your service,
think of others and not of ourselves,
speak up for the voiceless, the poor, the oppressed,
follow Jesus, whatever the cost –
then we do honour to the life we have from you,
and we can do no other
than give it back to you
in service and discipleship.
Norah Summers
Falkirk Trinity Church
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