CARRY YOUR CROSS

Mark 8:35 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

There’s the story of a soldier frantically digging in during battle as shells fall all around him. Suddenly his hand feels something metal and he grabs it. It’s a silver cross. Another shell explodes and he buries his head in his arms. He feels someone jump in the foxhole with him and he looks over and sees an army chaplain. The soldier thrusts the cross in the chaplain’s face and says, “I sure am glad to see you. How do you work this thing?”

This moment in scripture demonstrates a critical moment for Jesus and his disciples. Whatever the disciples might be thinking, he knew for certain that an inescapable cross lay ahead. Jesus had to teach Peter and the others what Messiahship really meant, because Jesus’ role as Messiah stood in stark contrast to the first century Jewish ideas of Messiah. As time went on, it became clear that this dreamed-of greatness would never come about naturally through the passage of time, for they came under Assyrian rule and Babylonian rule and Persian rule and Greek rule and Roman rule. They began to believe that it wasn’t likely that someone would simply emerge politically. More and more they began to dream of a day when God would intervene in history and unveil the Messiah. They had dreams of a Messiah being ushered in by God in a nationalistic, conquering style, in which the perfect reign of God would come about through a great military struggle.

The Messiah that Jesus was prepared to be was not what they were expecting. That’s exactly why Jesus laid it out as plainly as he could: “If any want to become my follower, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” Self-denial is not easy. We all have things we want. We all have goals, but Christ is clear that when we choose to freely follow him, we must first deny ourselves. That means you can’t always do what you want to do. This means that you will face tough, life-changing decisions that need to be made in the shadow of the cross, and not the desires of the heart. This doesn’t mean that you’ll be deprived of joy and happiness; rather it means that you find fulfillment and joy and happiness through dedication to Jesus Christ. Denial of self is placing yourself in the hands of God at all times, no matter where his hands might lead you.

Jesus also said, “Take up your cross.” In other words, pick it up yourself. He didn’t say, “Grab hold of a cross to provide protection.” He didn’t say, “Wear this cross as a fashion statement.” He said, “Pick it up.” This means that there is a choice. Christ had a choice as to whether he was going to pick up his cross. He could’ve said “No,” and we have a choice whether to pick ours up and bear our cross.

Bearing the cross is a choice. It is a voluntary form of sacrificial obedience that identifies us completely with Jesus Christ. Bearing our cross is not making the best of a situation or circumstance. It is something we deliberately take up and bear. We don’t usually like that, for we would rather wear a cross than bear a cross.

The cross is an emblem of Christianity that holds special meaning for every one of us who identify with Jesus Christ. Whenever we see a cross, it speaks to us of Christ’s tenacious determination to do his Father’s will by dying for us on Calvary. The cross is all about making a choice. The cross is about discipline, hard work, obedience, and commitment. It isn’t easy, but it draws us closer to Christ and makes us more Christ-like, for never has a symbol of such pain and torture been resurrected into a symbol of ending love and hope.

If anyone wants to be a follower of Jesus Christ, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him.