Imitating Christ requires significant humility and sacrifice. I’m always tempted to skip to the parts at the end about the “body of his glory.” Glory in Christ, however, is attainable only by way of a cross.

A common misconception is that Christ’s saving death on the cross means that we will be saved from all suffering. Instead, it is an invitation to use our lives in imitation of Christlike love for the world. We are called to use our lives, privilege, and hands in self-offering service to others.

I think of a pastor in San Diego who literally opened his church to new immigrants detained at the US-Mexico border awaiting hearing as they sought asylum. Someone took a photo of him during the foot-washing portion of the Holy Thursday worship service. The man whose feet he was washing had a digital tracking device on his ankle. He had to wear it until his hearing.

I think of a family in my church who have just welcomed newborn twins into their home temporarily, expanding their household and hearts again as foster parents. Their expansive love keeps growing more spacious, with room for everyone.

I think of the persistence of a woman at my former church who crocheted shawls for all one hundred participants in a retreat for adults with HIV/AIDS, ensuring that each person would receive a handmade gift that they could wrap around themselves like love.

There are countless ways we can offer ourselves, pouring out love into a world of so much brokenness. The call of the cross is to choose this way of living that gives of ourselves for others.