The Cross of Peace, Joy, and Contentment - Part I

When I think of the word cross it brings up an image of something painful and hard; something that will cause us a death, whether it is the death of sin or a death of something that keeps us from seeing God more clearly.. After reading the title of this article you may be a little confused in how the cross and peace, joy, and contentment could be related. Peace, Joy and Contentment are more than byproducts of such deaths from sin or living a life of discipleship. We first have to look at what we dwell on in areas of fear, faith and fantasy. The cross of peace is one that is hard because we find it easier to dwell on the things that keep us from it. The cross of joy is one that is difficult when we are called to carry it when we are in the mist of suffering, loneliness or depression. The cross of contentment we are to carry in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in.

I want to discuss how we can and do need to carry our cross in the midst of trials and tribulations. We are called to carry it when things are good. We are called to carry it when we are tempted, we are called to carry it when we focus on what we lack in life and when we look at what others have, and judge them becoming envious. While peace, joy, and contentment seem like easy words to hear, they are very difficult to live in each and every day. Think to yourself about today, how easy was it to lose the peace, joy and contentment that your day may have started out with, or if you had any to lose. Ask yourself, what keeps you from living a life of peace, joy and contentment?