Take up your Cross
Written by rob12870
Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 01:30 AM.
Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
The cross, there are several things that we can associate with the cross none of which spark pleasant thoughts. Pain, Suffering, Sorrow, Death, Sacrifice, Torture, Agony. Jesus suffered through everyone of these on the day He was put to death on the cross for you and me. The Torture from the beating he received from the soldiers, the Agony of the crown of thorns placed on his head and the sin he had to bear, the Pain from the nails in his feet and hands, the Suffering he must have felt as he struggled to pull his body up for each and every breath of air as he slowly suffocated, the Sorrow from knowing that God the Father had turned his back on him in the moment he really needed him most. And then Death, the final outcome for all who suffer the horrible fate of the cross. Sometimes I don't think we spend enough time thinking about just how much a price was paid for us. Jesus gave his all for us, and now he wants us to do the same for Him. He said "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Just what exactly did he mean? what could he possibly be saying? surely he doesn't want us to be crucified? Rest assured Jesus does not want us to be crucified. But if you wish to follow Him he does expect sacrifice, he does expect you to deny yourself. You know what I mean, those things you do that he does not like, those things that go against everything found in his word. When a person carried their cross it showed that no matter how rebellious they were before... they were now under the authority of Rome. No longer would they be aloud to do whatever they felt like, no longer would they be aloud to make their own choices. From now on they did what Rome said they would do. When a Christian or better yet, when a True Christian learns what it means to take up his cross it's because he understands that God is calling him to a life of self sacrifice That means it's going to hurt, it's going to be a little tough at times. If it didn't hurt and if it wasn't a little tough at times it wouldn't be much of a sacrifice now would it? No longer will a True Christian live rebellious towards God, no longer will a True Christian do things just because it feels good to him or because everyone else is doing it, no longer will he be led by the lust of the flesh. No, when a True Christian chooses to pick up his cross, what he is totally saying is Lord I'm giving up that old way of life, I'm throwing it all away for you, I want to be under your guidance, your authority. No longer do I want to live for myself. LORD I WANT TO LIVE FOR YOU!!!
Jesus isn't asking us to crucify ourselves
He just asking us to crucify the old nature.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
It's time to kill the old person and let the new one run free
God Bless
Rob
