If someone were to ask you, “Who are you?” how would you answer? If someone were to ask you “Who do others say that you are?” what would they say?

Jesus wanted to know whether his disciples really knew who he is and what he stands for, or if they have it all wrong. Jesus had the conviction that God is central to your life and, as a consequence, everything should change.

God has a set of values which you must follow but the world has another set: Power equals money, clout, armies, war, perversion of truth; living by these standards has given the world a history of violence. Nonetheless, people try to organize society in such a way that people can live decent, human lives.

Who do you say that Jesus is? Your answer determines not only who you think Jesus is, but who you think you are. Jesus expects you to follow him. Following Jesus involves facing and accepting many difficult things about life: the inevitability of suffering, the shortness of life, daily events of the world, persecution for the faith.

Following Jesus means denying the tendency that you are the center; that you live only for yourself. You are to lose your life in the sense of giving it in service, of doing works of justice and love.

There are many people who live with suffering each day. Sometimes the role of suffering may be to support, to encourage, to be with, or to do something for someone who is suffering ... a simple work of faith.

Or perhaps the role of suffering may be prophetic: speaking out in defense of the dignity of the human person and the respect we must all have for life in the face of a world culture which seems to focus only on the values of the world rather than on God’s values.

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

Crosses are a part of life, part of being a follower of Jesus. Jesus does not tell you to make crosses but, whatever the cross is in your life, you are to pick it up and do something with it by following him. Somehow, in ways we don’t fully understand, your suffering can bring you closer to God.

The first kind of suffering comes from the relationships with others, through no fault of your own. People make choices which sometimes hurt you.

The second kind of suffering comes from the world around us: illnesses and natural disasters; the type that seems completely random and is not caused by the actions of another.

The third kind of suffering is the kind that you experience when you do the wrong thing, when you act in unloving ways, when you sin. You might call them the consequences of turning your back on God.

There is one of those crosses of suffering you and I should consider not picking up: the cross of suffering you experience through your own fault, through your own sin. Whenever you come upon that cross, step around it by making better choices, more loving choices, more God-like choices.

Letting God change you is going to be hard — denying yourself is never easy — but denying yourself may be the most important cross you and I will ever carry.

You never carry your cross alone ... deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Jesus.