Articles
Carry Your Cross
We human beings are unpredictable creatures. We think we know ourselves or others and what they may do given a certain situation, but yet we surprise even ourselves. If someone were to come up to us with a Ph.D. after their name, a uniform, or even a lab coat, we would more likely listen to what they have say. But if right now Christ came up to us, we’d more than likely ask for proof or give a list of things that we have to get done that day.
"You came at bad time: I got to pick up my kids, go to the store, make dinner, there is a lovely cheesecake in the fridge with my name on it," etc. This all begs the questions, Who are we serving? And are we trying to live for this life or the next?
When we hear the phrase, “carry your cross” we tend to think of all the burdens and struggles we are heavy with. This is understandable, since a cross is not a light object and to carry one is backbreaking work. The Romans forced Simon of Cyrene to help carry Jesus’s cross on the way to Golgotha; but we have a choice. In Mark 8 we see that it is up to us to decide: are we going to look back to the world? Or are we going to save our souls and walk with Christ?
The beauty of putting on a new self to walk with Christ is that we are not alone. We will face trials and hardship when we carry our cross, but we have the church to lean on when we find it hard to walk and we have the Lord, Creator of Heaven and Earth, to help us lift our cross and guide us to salvation. Will we open our hearts to let Christ lift us?
It also takes effort, zeal, and focus on our part in order for Christ to lift us. As Luke 9 points out we have to fully be focused 100% because if we aren’t then we are not able to be saved. The Lord will provide a way out of temptation and distraction, but only if we are courageous and trusting enough in Him to see it. We must not let the world let us lose or dishearten our love for Christ and ourselves, because death will not be for us if we hold true.
Inspired by: Luke 9:61-62; Mark 8:31-38; Luke 23:26-31; Colossians 3:9-17,;John 16:33; Galatians 6:2; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Peter 5:6-7; Galatians 1:10; Matthew 16:27-28; Psalm 68:19-20.
