“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.'”

(Matthew 16:24-25 ESV)

St. Francis of Assisi was born in France in 1181. He was born into a rich family, and starting at age 14, lived a life of partying and drunkenness. During a time of war, he was captured and waited for a year in a dungeon for his father to ransom him. When he returned home, he was very ill. He saw a vision of Jesus that caused him to decide to give up his life and wealth, live in poverty, and dedicate his life to building the Church of Jesus. 

He wrote this prayer: 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Darrell Stetler II is a pastor who helps churches build a clear discipleship pathway.