Encountering the Identity and Suffering of Jesus

We all naturally avoid suffering, but Jesus calls every Christian that wants to follow him to deny himself, take up his cross and follow him. Jesus intends that there be no such thing as cross-less Christianity. Those who live for themselves are the most discontent unhappy people, but those who live self-sacrificially for Christ are generally some of the happiest most content people especially as they remember the wonderful Life to come. Or as Jesus said it, "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it" (Mark 8:35).