Gospel Reflections #617: Even if we don't want it

Luke 23:26 "As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus."

When a Cyrenean named Simon stopped in amazement at the sight of Jesus staggering and carrying a heavy cross, and looked as if he felt sorry for him, the people seized Simon and placed the cross on his shoulders.

Simon was forced to carry the cross rather than of his own volition.

Simon had heard of Jesus. Simon's sons were followers of the Savior, but Simon himself was not a disciple.

But Simon, who carried the cross of Jesus, later became a disciple of Christ.

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that we did not choose.

Sometimes we complain and refuse to face the situation.

But we can see things by facing them and accepting them, even if we can't help it.

It is not so much that we are affected in some way by the other person, and the scales fall from our eyes, but rather that we have done a good deed of charity, and that is when we are there with that person, going through the same struggles.

This is what it means to take the yoke.

Simon might never have believed in God if he had not accidentally had to bear the cross of Jesus.

We are given a time of explosive spiritual chemistry at God's appointed time.

Even if we have no idea when, where, or how, if we know who God is, we will not miss that time.

There may be a lot of God's blessings hidden in the things we think we don't want to do.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.