“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
(Lk. 9:23)
Contrary to the accepted belief (that believers are to bear Christ’s cross), I lean rather toward the belief that each of us has his or her own personal cross to bear. We’re to daily take up our cross, not His. None of us could handle His! They placed on Simon, a Cyrenian, Christ’s Cross to carry (Mk. 15:21); but when you read Jn. 19:17, you find it was Jesus who ended up carrying it to Golgotha. There is a cross that has our name on it. It is this designated cross we’re to bear, not another's.
In Jesus’ day when a person was seen carrying a cross, you knew they were not headed for a picnic! It spoke of suffering, shame, and certainly no far-reaching plans, but only that which was before them. To take up your cross is one of those “hard sayings” in the Bible. As one old devine said, “Christ hath many lovers of His Kingdom, but few lovers of the cross; many who follow Him to the breaking of the bread, few to the drinking of the cup. ” Must Jesus bear the Cross alone?
“The Cross of Christ was not a disaster; it was a design...The perfection of Jesus was the fruit of the Cross.”
(Puritan-Thomas Watson)
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