Take Up Your Cross

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And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)

To truly follow Christ, we must take up our cross. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead so that we could be forgiven and spend eternity with Him. But many may find it interesting to notice that Jesus, before He was crucified, mentioned taking up the cross and following Him to the disciples and the rich young ruler.

He hadn’t been crucified yet, but He often mentioned that those who desired to follow Him needed to take up their cross. This instruction was prevalent when He spoke and yet, His disciples never mentioned asking Him why He used that phrase. They already understood it.

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mathew 16:24)

They didn’t know that He, Himself would be nailed to a cross. Not until the end of Christ’s ministry did they realize that He was to be crucified. The meaning of the phrase ‘take up your cross and follow me’ held a particular meaning to the people of that day.

Today, we hear people talk about ‘their cross to bear’ when describing some burden or hardship in their lives. But this is not what was meant in Christ’s day when He spoke to His disciples. The cross, at that time, was known as the most horrible of punishments. It was used to put people to a slow and agonizing death for their actions or their beliefs. The criminals were required to carry their own crosses up hill to their death.

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:27)

It was a well-known means of torture and death. But for those who were not criminals it came to mean being willing to die for what you believed. It meant and still means today to be willing to do whatever it takes to follow Jesus, even if it means death.

Taking up the cross of Christ is total self-sacrifice, submission to Christ and the abandonment of our own selfish desires. To give one’s life completely over to God through His son Jesus Christ, seeking to be like Him, following His example, and living to please Him is what it means to take up the Cross.

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34)

Little did the disciples know that when Christ said to follow Him by taking up the cross, it would literally mean death, and to some of them, death on the cross. But they gave up their lives and their jobs for Him. They gave up families and hometowns for Him. They followed Him into dangerous situations because they knew He was from God. The took up the cross for Christ not knowing what the future would hold. We must do the same.

Today, we ask God into our hearts, but we don’t really believe it will lead to death. We don’t completely deny our own wants. We don’t completely submit to Him. Most of us attend church if it is convenient but separate our jobs and hobbies from our Christian lives. We are satisfied with mediocrity. We need self-denial to be worthy of Christ.

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38)

We need our hearts to be crucified, daily making that commitment to take up our cross, being willing to give our all to follow Christ. Yes, we have been saved, but that is not the end. We cannot afford to relegate our Christianity to a back seat. The only way to truly follow Him is to be willing to place everything we have, everything we are and everything we love under His control. We must take up our cross and follow the Lord.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank You for taking up Your cross and suffering agony and torment so that we might live and be reunited with our God. Open our hearts to ask for Your Holy Spirit’s guidance and strength. Show us daily how we can take up our cross and follow you. We desire to please You and be more like You in every way. Amen



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