Take Up Your Cross
Then Jesus said to his disciples, " If anyone will come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me"
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"Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me"
Most of us profess to be followers of Christ
But are willing to take our cross,
We need to know that we cannot refer to ourselves as His disciples
If all these 3 conditions are not met
- Deny oneself
- Take up your cross
- Follow Christ
Notice that the verse says "his cross" not "the cross"
The father tells us - his disciples
That every one of us must bear his own cross
Not someone else's.
He assures us in 2 Tim 3:11
That He will deliver us from whatever persecution that will come our way
Provided we wholeheartedly put our trust in him
Christ expects us to willingly give our lives
Without reservation to Jesus and in His steps even to death
What Does It Mean "To Take Up"?
Carry, bear, accept, begin work or act in a capacity.
This indicates that the taking up of ones cross is an intentional act and not one mandated or induced on a person.
What Does Taking Up Your Cross Mean?
Lets answer these questions to see what we are in for
- Are you willing to follow Jesus even if it means losing your job?
- Are you willing to follow Jesus even if it means losing your reputation?
- Are you willing to follow Jesus even if it means losing your closest friends?
- Are you willing to follow Jesus even if it means losing your life?
To what extent are you willing to bear your cross?
Taking up your cross is not necessarily a physical death as Jesus died for us but a total sacrifice of yourself to do His will
When we take up our cross, we are saying that not our will but the perfect will of our Father concerning our lives be done. Ultimately, bearing our cross is not totally about us but the salvation of others as well.
To carry our cross is to accept the bad days that we have, to the people with their defects, to forgive the brother who has offended you.
Indeed Christ ecpect us to willingly follow him and abide by the word which why he gave us the free will to either serve or not, thanks for sharing🙏
Thanks for reminding us on our affiliation Jesus as our Lord and saviour
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"Suffering as such is not a value; only man’s fight against suffering, is. If you choose to help a man who suffers, do it only on the ground of his virtues, of his fight to recover, of his rational record, or of the fact that he suffers unjustly; then your action is still a trade, and his virtue is the payment for your help. But to help a man who has no virtues, to help him on the ground of his suffering as such, to accept his faults, his need, as a claim — is to accept the mortgage of a zero on your values. "
Ayn Rand,
For the New Intellectual, 180