There’s this gang tattoo that has a smiling face next to a crying one.  It is commonly referred to as smile now, cry later.  My friend who was a gang officer and expert knows how to explain its meaning a lot better than I can but it has something to do with the nature of life.  Among other things.

This one is about carrying our crosses.

My faith is based around the symbol of the cross and the crucified Jesus.  We are taught to carry our own crosses and be crucified with Him.  What that exactly means I’ll leave to better theological minds and frequent church goers.  I have my own ideas but haven’t fleshed them out completely.  Not sure I ever will.

But this is about the whole question of why would anyone in their right mind want to carry a cross and face, if not a literal then at least a figurative tortured death.  It sounds like pure insanity and foolishness.  Until maybe one thinks a bit more. 

I tried not to think too much about cost-benefit ratios much in my life – education, jobs, relationships, etc.  Don’t get me wrong, I am highly analytical but at some point, I ran on faith, instinct, and intuition – damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead, all in all out.  That’s also how my daughter is – running head on, head down.  Come what may.  But I recently realized that one thing I was really poor at was identifying the hidden costs and benefits.  I could see the apparent ones well but not so much what lay behind the curtain.  Live and learn.

I ask what is the benefit of carrying one’s cross.  That’s not an easy one – the church answer is in the vicinity of something like salvation and exchanging it for a crown.  Likely true and costly.  As I teach my kids, no cross, no crown.  You don’t need to share my faith to see how that works in other life situations.  The parallel question, however, is what happens when you choose not to go the cross-crucifixion route.  On the surface, it looks like an amazing choice.  But the hidden costs.  Again, no theologian here but my gut says – you’ll end up empty, with nothing.  Like the tattoo – smile now, cry later.

I’ve previously written about this absolutely intelligent and beautiful girl who was talking to me when I was in law school.  Did I mention she was rich too?  My daughter says dad are you a gold digger?  She did not believe that a loving God would send anyone to hell.  All that aside, hell is probably not what it’s depicted like in popular culture but my guess is that it’s pretty bad.  I often casually say that so and so should go to hell but if I really think about it, it’s cruel.  Watching anyone suffer, even someone you hate, is not pleasant, even painful.  It’s not my place to determine who goes to hell – but if the classic doctrine is followed, that cross-crucifixion thing gets really important.  And even without the potential eternal consequences, there are likely temporal ones.

Smile now, cry later.