Take Up Your Cross

I come to you with a question. At first, this question seems simple, but then it becomes harder and harder to answer. The question is: what are you willing to do for God?

Some people might answer: "Anything. I will do anything for God." Yet their life doesn't show the same kind of enthusiasm. Some people may want to be willing, but fear gets in the way. For myself, I struggle with letting go of comfort and letting God lead the way completely.

The truth is, God didn't save us so that we could read the bible and go to church. He saved us for so much more. Those things are not bad; in fact they are very good and necessary for a strong relationship with Christ, but they aren't everything. God created and saved us for so much more than a comfortable Christian life. God doesn't just want us to go to bible studies and tweet verses; He wants us to follow Him. 

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever wants looses their life for me will find it.'" Matthew 16:24-25

Now to understand this verse, we must first understand what Jesus means by "cross." When I think of cross I normally think of a large wooden cross, like the one Jesus died on, strapped to my back. I think of it almost like a heavy burden. But this thought doesn't seem to be consistent with the scriptures.

"For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

So the cross isn't a burden; in fact, it is a rest. When we can't carry our crosses, it is because we are too busy holding on to everything else, things like pride, laziness, or possessions. These things are much heavier than the ways that God has planned. They weigh us down with worries and stress. We try so hard to keep things under control, and then everything falls to pieces around us.

 But, when we give these burdens to God in exchange for His cross, we experience freedom. All of a sudden, the pressure isn't on us. All we have to do is trust God. This life isn't always easy, and is often times very hard. But we are not doing it by ourselves. We have someone to lean on, Someone who never gets stressed or tired or confused. We end up becoming free in His wonderful love, free of those troubles that we tried to handle ourselves.

I have a challenge for you. I challenge you to let go of whatever you are holding on to and take up Christ's cross. It sounds so simple when I put it that way, but in reality, this requires sacrifice. We have to sacrifice our wants and desires. We have to let go of what little control we think we have on our lives. We have to daily give up what is normal and comfortable. But God is worth it. He is, in fact, the only thing worth our lives. Everything else will fail to compare.

So, will you day by day take up your cross and follow Jesus? Will you sacrifice your comforts and old ways of life for a new life full of joy in Christ? Let Christ lead you in an exhilerating and joyous journey with Him!

Hannah