"We shall individually be held responsible for doing one jot less than we have ability to do...But when we give ourselves wholly to God, and in our work follow His directions, He makes Himself responsible for its accomplishment. He would not have us conjecture as to the success of our honest endeavors. Not once should we even think of failure. We are to cooperate with One who knows no failure." ~Messages to Young People, p. 309

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Who Am I? Clue: I Carried One of Jesus' Burdens


Try to guess the Bible character's identity before the end of this article!
~Photobug

Greetings! I am a man who resides in Libya, in the area of Cyrene. Today I will tell you of the most amazing experience I ever had! [Acts 2:10, Matthew 27:32]

This experience happened several years ago, when I traveled to Jerusalem in Israel with my sons Alexander and Rufus. As we came in from the country, we neared Jerusalem, and what looked to be like a huge throng of people.  As my two sons and I got closer, we realized the center of attention was Jesus. My two sons were believers in this Jesus, but I wasn't. Still, when I saw what those Roman soldiers were doing, I felt compassion and moved to the front of the crowd. What was happening to Jesus? He was being crucified. He was all bloody and tired and worn out. He almost couldn't walk another step, he was so weak. And then they made him carry his cross! [Mark 15:21]

Evidently the Romans realized Jesus was weak too. They knew that Jesus couldn't carry his cross any further, but who would carry it? If any Jew did it, he would be grossly defiled by their law. When the Romans saw me, a foreigner, show compassion, they seized me and told me to carry Jesus' cross. I carried the cross right behind Jesus. [Luke 23:26]

I continued in this deathly, woeful march until we reached a spot just outside of Jerusalem. It was called Golgotha, which also means "The Place of the Skull". [Mark 15:22] There, I was relieved of my borrowed burden, and the Romans continued their terrible work. 

I couldn't do anything more for Jesus, but I could do something about myself. I became a believer. A believer in Jesus, that He was, and still is, the Lamb of God and Saviour of mankind. Ever after I considered it a blessing that I was chosen to carry Jesus' cross, and since then I have cheerfully been a disciple of Christ.  After seeing what Jesus do for me, I can never do too much for Him.  

Do you know my name now? My name is

Simon of Cyrene

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