When Jesus says, “Come after me”, he calls us to follow him to Calvary and to die with him. This is not an invitation to be crucified, as he was, it is not an invitation to martyrdom; rather, it is an invitation to carry with love the cross of daily living and suffering, and more than anything else, an invitation to die to self-love, self-will. This decision is ours to make day by day. It should be evident that the place to begin is with those around us who are most in need of our loving concern.  And nothing can help us make a decision for Christ more than the realization that he made that journey to Jerusalem and to Calvary for no other reason than his love for us.