“The letters of the name of God in Hebrew… are infrequently pronounced Yahweh. But in truth they are inutterable….This word {YHWH} is the sound of breathing.The holiest name in the world, the Name of Creator, is the sound of your own breathing. That these letters are unpronounceable is no accident. Just as it is no accident that they are also the root letters of the Hebrew verb ‘to be’… God’s name is name of Being itself.” 

~Rabbi Lawrence Kushner

Of all the things Jesus could have said to do daily...
   
                                                                                        Read the Bible...
                 
                                ...Spend an hour in prayer
Go to Church...
                                                                                                  ...Share the Gospel
               Study Theology...
                                                      ...Walk an old lady across the street
        Fast...
                                          Think 'spiritual' thoughts...
  Go to a third world country...
                                                                             ...Advocate for social justice 
Meditate... 


He says, "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me." 

None of these things is inherently bad. 

But they aren't the essence of the Christian life, either. 

The essence of Christianity is taking up His Cross. 

And it's... heavy. 

Every.

Day.