“Well, here I am, Lord. You said, ‘Take up your cross,’ and I am here to do it. It is not easy, you know, this self-denial thing. I mean to go through with it, though, yes sir. I will bet You wish more people were willing to be disciples like me. I have counted the cost and surrendered my life and it is not an easy road.”
“You mind if I look over these crosses? I would kind of like a new one. I am not fussy, you understand, but a disciple has to be relevant these days. I was wondering, are there any that are vinyl padded? I am thinking of attracting others. You see, and if I could show them a comfortable cross, I am sure I could win a lot more. Got to keep up with the population explosion and all. I need something durable so I can treasure it always. Oh, is there one that is sort of flat so it would fit under my coat? One should not be too obvious.”
“Funny, there does not seem to be much choice here. Just that coarse, rough wood. I mean, that would hurt! Do you have something more distinctive, Lord? I can tell You right now, none of my friends are going to be impressed by this shoddy workmanship! They will think I am a nut or something! My family will be just mortified!”
“What did You say? It is either one of these or forget the whole thing? But Lord, I want to be your disciple! I mean, just being with You, that is all that counts, but life has to have balance, too. You do not understand; nobody lives that way today! Who is going to be attracted by this self-denial bit? I mean, I want to, but let’s not overdo it! Start getting radical like this and they will have me off to the funny farm – know what I mean?”
“I mean, being a disciple is challenging and exciting, and I want to do it, but I do have some rights, You know! Now let’s see. No blood, okay! I just cannot stand the thought of that, Lord.”
