Wednesday, March 12 || ARE WE WILLING TO CARRY THE CROSS DAILY?

Read : Acts 20: 22-24

“Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

- Luke 14:27

Jesus commands us, His disciples, “Take up your cross daily.” The problem is, many of us have heard this phrase for many years that it has lost its meaning for us. We think of some particular problem, or annoying person which we have to put up with and say, “That’s my cross to bear.” But we need to remember that in the day in which Jesus lived, the “cross” was the instrument of death penalty. It was known as a cruel, painful form of corporal punishment used by the Romans. The very thought of cross would send chills down the spine of a citizen in Jesus’ day. If we read the context of this verse, we would understand that Jesus had just told His disciples, that He would be rejected, suffer and killed by the Jewish religious leaders. (Luke 9:22) He meant to tell them, “If you are going to follow me, you must be willing to do the same thing, you must be willing to die.” It may not be our literal death, but it may be the death of our self, our popularity, our power, our reputation, our status, our position. In order to be identified with Christ, we must die to self. We must become selfless and give up our preferences for the preference of others. We should understand that death to self is part of the Christian’s life.

Dear friends, the invitation of Jesus goes beyond fear. This is willingness to endure persecution, hatred, hostility, rejection, shame, suffering and even death. What Jesus is talking about is not about a happy experience, but it is about suffering. Are we willing to give up our life, and suffer for the gospel? It is not that we look for suffering, but if suffering comes our way we must accept. Remember, without cross, there is no crown.