I was visiting a young man fresh out of college, an engineer, good job, high salary, even a car provided by the company that had hired him. He asked me, "When does life get hard? Jesus says, 'Take up your cross and follow me.' I have had wonderful parents, an excellent education, and now a well-paying job. I don't feel like I have any cross to carry. I am so happy." His happiness made me happy. It was heartening to hear someone so young and so well-off thinking such spiritual thoughts.
Most of us don't have to look very hard for our cross. For some it very obvious: chronic illness, loneliness, or the loss of a job. For others the cross is more subtle: who we are or what we are. We may have pesonality traits that we don't like. Sooner or later some suffering or difficulty drops into our lives and Jesus asks us to carry our cross along with him. He lives within us and helps us accept the problems we cannot change. There is no new life without death to the old, no resurrection without the cross.
I encouraged my young friend simply to enjoy this fortunate time in his life and to stay close to Jesus in prayer so that when the cross comes he will have the help he needs.
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