Wednesday, June 30: What is your cross to bear?

When we take a close look at this world, it is difficult to fathom how strongly each of us is tied to it. Everywhere we turn, there is brokenness all around us, from homelessness to substance-abuse issues to poverty, hunger, famine and war. Natural disasters seem to be increasing, with massive death and destruction occurring from earthquakes, tsunamis, fires and even oil spills. Because this life is all we know, we often let our earthly circumstances overwhelm us, forgetting the hope of glory that will come.


23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?
Luke 9:23-25


I wonder how the disciples heard the verse above when Jesus spoke. Do you think they made the connection between a cross and crucifixion? They certainly did not make the connection between the cross and His crucifixion until after His death. Though crucifixion began in the 6th century B.C., it was perfected by the Romans as the most brutal form of torture. Jesus teaches us to join Him in suffering, but the burden that we carry is a light affliction, as Paul termed his sufferings on this earth in 2 Corinthians:


17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
 2 Corinthians 4:17-18


Do you look at the sufferings of this age as light? Paul was snake-bitten, beaten, imprisoned and shipwrecked numerous times. He had constant aches, pains and a distracting disorder of the eyes making it difficult to even read the Hebrew scrolls. Yet Paul was able to understand that the burden Jesus carried on His cross was far weightier than the comparatively feather-light weight that each of us must shoulder as believers. Additionally, we know that most of us build the crosses that we are to carry! Though the Lord forgives our sins, the ramifications of those sins remain with us, and frequently, are a part of our cross bearing.

Why do you think God doesn’t make our lives simple when we come to Him? Why doesn’t He make every Christian a millionaire, with fame and abundance? Sadly, we spend so much more time in prayer asking for God’s help than in praising Him for the blessings. If we were as thankful as God deserves, we could praise Him every moment of every day and it still wouldn’t be enough! Instead, we selfishly pray, “What are You going to do for me now, God?” Though we don’t deserve it, He continues to bless us, yet He keeps us in places where we will look to Him for guidance, assistance and love.


Carry your cross with joy, knowing that the burden of your sin already has been carried by the only One with wide enough shoulders to sustain that weight. If that is all He ever would accomplish on our behalves, it was enough, yet He continues to bless us on a daily basis. Jesus carried His own cross through the streets of Jerusalem to a hilltop outside the city walls. Beaten, bloodied and bruised, He sustained the weight of the cross as well as the hatred of the mob. We were all a part of that angry mob, cheering Him derisively along the path to His death. If you want to join Him in life, you have to be willing to join Him in His death! Pick up your cross today and follow Him. Where He leads, I will follow!


He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Psalm 23:3