My wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in October 2012. I shared with a friend about the challenges this situation had posed for me. As we talked, he gently told me that this is the cross I have to carry. “Carrying your cross” means living with sickness or a child with a disability, or financial problems, or any difficult circumstance of life. But when Jesus tells us to carry our own crosses, is He referring to life’s burdens?
Jesus laid down three conditions for discipleship: “You must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). A believer in Jesus “must turn from [his] selfish ways” or “must deny himself” (NIV), saying no to self-will, self-centeredness, self-interest, self-sufficiency, self-dependence, self-ambition, and self-exaltation. To deny yourself is to die to self.
The cross was an instrument of death. A condemned man carrying his cross toward his execution lost interest in the things of this world. To “take up your cross daily” is to die to sin. It’s a call to reprioritize your life.
There’s also a personal aspect to the demand: “Follow me.” Jesus told us to obey His commands, but He also said to follow Him. Following Jesus means walking closely after Him, going where He goes, doing what He does. It means making His will your will, not creating your own path, but putting your feet into the footprints of Jesus. And His footprints will lead you up Calvary’s hill.
You may profess to be a Christian, but if you don’t carry your own cross and follow Jesus, you’re not His disciple (Luke 14:27). A believer in Jesus must reject self, die to sin, and pursue the Savior!
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 1 Kings 18:16-46
More:
Read Luke 9:57-62, Luke 14:25-27 to see what else Jesus said about following Him.
Next:
How closely are you following Jesus? What must you do to follow Him better?
Gary Shultz on April 19, 2014 at 7:03 am
Great lesson, if we are to dream, it should be the dream of Jesus through us.
Roxanne Robbins on April 19, 2014 at 12:41 pm
Thank you, K.T., for these provocative reflections on the cross Christ carried for us, and the cross we’re to carry in response.
Aganos on April 19, 2014 at 4:04 pm
God Almighty, give me the grace and strength to carry my cross every moment, everyday. AMEN.
Winn Collier on April 24, 2014 at 2:51 pm
Dying is so, so hard.
daisymarygoldr on May 19, 2014 at 2:39 pm
Carrying the cross is to carry the burden of sin. Whose sin? Jesus carried our sins (1 Peter 2:24). Likewise His disciples are called to carry their cross. The cross we carry is not our sin. Our sins are already nailed to the cross of Christ (Galatians 5:24). To die to sin is to be crucified. This is discipleship 101. Note: “Crucified” and “carrying your cross” are two different expressions.
So, if Christ has borne our sins whose sin are we called to bear? The wrong doings of those we have been called to serve. The disciple is a servant who must patiently endure unfair treatment and wrong accusations. This is not to develop a messiah complex. It is to carry out the specific mission which the Lord has assigned to each of us for advancing His Kingdom.
The act of “Carrying the cross” is to humble ourselves in obedience to carry out God’s Will. The life of a disciple knows no other purpose. When we pick up the cross, it demonstrates our total submission to sacrificial service in preaching the good news of Christ to all—at all cost—even to the point of death.
Correct; the cross was an instrument of death. What death? A criminal’s death (Philippians 2:8)… In Jesus’ day, criminals were required to carry their own cross in public. Paul said, “Because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal” (2 Timothy 2:9). To preach the good news in public will expose the disciple to ridicule, rejection, scorn, and shame. There is no safe place for the disciples of Jesus Christ.
To “take up your cross daily” means being put to death every day for the Lord’s sake (Romans 8:36). In 1 Corinthians 15: 31, Paul said “I die daily” referring to risking his life by preaching the Gospel. Bearing our cross is not a one-time decision but a daily commitment until we die or the Lord returns.
In my experience, the cross is a bitter cup. While trying to put my feet into the footprints of Jesus, I often stumble. During times of discouragement I find strength in Paul’s encouraging words to young Timothy: “Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you. 2 Timothy 4:5
smdsutton on July 13, 2015 at 1:53 pm
We must sacrifice the self daily. This is what decreases your natural being (the self) and increases your spiritual being (Christ/The Holy Spirit). Placing the self on the cross makes it possible for Christ/The Holy Spirit to dwell in you. Who better to dwell in you than Him?