“…and he went out, bearing his own cross…”
Every time I read this passage I am struck by these words: “bearing his own cross.” Yes, Jesus may 
have physically carried that cross, but it was not “his” cross he bore. It was ours. We’re taught this from a very young age, that Jesus died for our sins, but then when I read the scripture, I can’t help but notice the word play; not “ours,” but “his.” He died for us. He chose to die for us.
Reflecting on this passage, it is all too easy to go over the laundry list of regrets that I may have, or mistakes that I may have made in life. In our secular society, we tend to focus on how we messed up rather than what we learned. We hear from society how we’re falling short, and not living up to our potential. We all mess up. We all have moments in life that can be seen as failures. We all fall short. These can easily weigh us down and burden us, just as the cross burdened Jesus as he carried it to Calvary Hill.
Instead of seeing these life-moments as failures and short comings, I choose to see them as opportunities to learn. I choose to live a life without regretting mistakes I’ve made. I choose to live a life celebrating who I am, including all my flaws. I choose to live a life based on the Arabic phrase “Haiatek saiedah,” which means “Your life be happy.” Every experience in our lives shares with us a lesson in how to be a better person, and it is our Christian duty to take those lessons and offer them as solace and aid to others when we can. I often falter and get caught in the downward spiral of self-doubt and human inadequacy, but then the scripture centers me and reminds me of my call in life.
Jesus took on our burdens and died for our sins, not so we could be free from care and responsibility, but so that we could take our burdens and use them to help and care for others. Our burdens and trials are nothing compared to what he endured, no matter how much they hurt us. He taught us that it is possible to rise again on the other side of hardship, to live life in a way that shares the burdens of our fellow man, and to come together as a community of faith to support and love one another through our imperfections.
–Haley Bankey
