“What do you want to be when you grow up?” My sons heard that question all the time. So did I when I was a teenager. One day after I stuttered a quick answer, my father just said, “Make sure you make something of your life.”
Deep down we all want to “make something of our lives.” While most of us will pursue different occupations, we also have a challenge of growing up to be disciples of Jesus. When Jesus lifted this lofty goal before us, he used the image of the cross. In effect, he said, “Just as I have made something of myself for the entire world at the cross, so I call you to lift me up before the whole world.” When we reach the point of living for him and winning others to him, we have in a sense “grown up.”
No doubt when Saul of Tarsus was a little boy, people asked him, “Saul, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Years later, with a new name and a life that meant a great deal to a great many, he concluded, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” When Saul grew up he became a disciple of Jesus.
What about you?
By: Harold Shank