The Recognition, part 8: The Daily Cross

And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. (Luke 9:23 NASB)

The word translated as "daily" is hēmera, and is used to indicate a period of time. It can, as the translation here, indicate a day, but it is translated elsewhere as a lifetime. Perhaps both translations are pertinent. Following Jesus requires that we deny ourselves and pick up our cross, our destiny, that way in which we make the most impact for Christ. 

It is all too common to pick up our cross once or twice, find it difficult, then lay it down again. Jesus, however, was clear. Taking up our cross is to be a daily act of submission to Him. It is to be an act of  hēmera, of daily surrender every day for the rest of our lives. That "every day for the rest of our lives" seems a little overwhelming doesn't it? We have a tendency to think, "No one does anything 'for the rest of their life'!" That, of course is not true. We awaken, have a cup of coffee, bathe, get dressed, eat a meal, go to work. What we do on a daily basis becomes so routine that, in a way, it is nearly effortless, or at least much easier. 

When we take up our cross daily, it eventually becomes our "routine", as well. It becomes a part of us, and we miss that surrender when we omit it. If you fail to eat breakfast before leaving for work, you notice it. In much the same way, omitting Christ from your day can become just as noticeable, just as uncomfortable.  Omitting Christ from our day should be not only uncomfortable, it should become unbearable. 

It is when we make this taking up of the cross a daily part of our lives that we can enjoy the sweet fellowship with our Lord that He intended. It is only in the denying of self and taking up of our cross that we become true followers of Christ. Our Lord did not say we could take up our cross if it was convenient or if we wanted to do it. He was clear. If we want to follow Him, then we will take up our cross, and we will take it up daily. It is not optional. 

As we begin our day, may be be so eager to follow Him that we willingly take up the cross, knowing that we do not bear it alone and that it brings the sweetness of communion with our Lord, all along the way. 

The Recognition, part 7: taking up

And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. (Luke 9:23 NASB)

They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. (John 19:17 NASB)

When they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26 NASB)

We turn again today to the very important concept of taking and bearing our cross. What Jesus said was that we had to "take up" our cross. He did not say we had to bear it all alone. On the night when our Lord was betrayed and arrested, He was beaten without mercy, bruised and battered for our sake. He was bearing His cross. Taking up that cross, however, began in the Garden of Gethsemane with His prayer of surrender, "Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done." When Jesus embraced the will of the Father and the cross that lay ahead, He was taking up His cross. Standing before Pilate and Herod, He was bearing His cross for us, as His destiny was to become the sacrifice for sin in our place. 

After a night of horrors, the soldiers lead Him out toward Golgotha. When they headed out, Jesus was not just taking up His cross but literally carrying His cross. The hours of beatings had taken a physical toll and the soldiers, who had also been up all night, likely wanted no further delay. Jesus, wounded and bleeding, might make the journey, but they could see it would take a while. Looking around, they spotted Simon of Cyrene in the crowd and "seized him" to carry the cross for Jesus. Simon's job was not to redefine the destiny nor to reroute the journey. He did not have to find God's will, nor like God's will. His job was simply to carry the cross. 

This is important, and I don't want us to miss it. Simon bore the burden for Jesus, and Jesus allowed it. Even in the worst time of His life, Jesus was demonstrating the importance of bearing one another's burdens. Jesus was not obeying the will of His Father any less by accepting Simon's help. In fact, Simon's assistance allowed Him to obey completely. 

If our Lord accepted assistance in carrying His burden, should we not also do the same? If the body of Christ is to function as Christ intended, we must be open to assisting those who are struggling as they work to do God's will. Just as important, however, we must be open to accepting the assistance of those God has "seized" to help us. Are you struggling in your journey of obedience? Is what God has called you to do far too difficult for you? When God sends help, if God sends help, consider accepting it. When Jesus struggled to carry the load, Simon was sent to help. Our Lord willingly accepted that help and we can do no less. 

Are you overwhelmed by the burden God has given? Sometimes He helps in supernatural ways, but sometimes He sends help "with skin on". Let God give you the help you need, no matter what way He chooses. 

The Recognition, part 6: the cross

YouAnd He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. (Luke 9:23 NASB)

As if the denying of self was not hard enough, Jesus told the disciples that those who wished to come after Him would both deny themselves and take up their cross daily. This taking up our cross is sometimes a difficult concept. At the time Jesus said these words, He had not yet been crucified. He had, however, already taken up His cross. 

The cross was used as a form of execution by the Romans, on which criminals were crucified. Nailed to the wooden beams and left to die in the blazing sun, their deaths could be a prolonged agony. It was a horrible form of death. It was not only the instrument of death for Jesus but clearly no surprise to Him. It was the worst method of death by which He paid for the worst kind of sin. My sin. Your sin. 

The cross was, in a way, the purpose of His coming. It was that to which He was destined. Jesus came to die and be raised again, and He came to die on the cross. Everything He taught, every miracle He did pointed toward the supreme sacrifice He would make for us. Isaiah described Him as a suffering servant, and that is what He was, even to suffering on the cross as He served us with His sacrificial death. 

When we look at what the cross meant to Jesus, we must also ask what our cross means to us. It is not just a piece of jewelry or a decorative icon, or it should not be. Our cross is that for which we were born, that which is our destiny. Those sound like big words, don't they? Though big, they are no less true. 

It is easy to be so caught up in the busy routine of our lives that we miss our destiny entirely. Peter was a busy and successful fisherman until the day business and destiny collided. Not everyone who follows Jesus will leave their business and become a full-time minister, but some will. Others will embrace a variety of service options, from visiting shut-ins to feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless. 

We all have a cross to bear. Jesus's words make that clear. What is your cross, your destiny? What is the reason for which you were born? How are you called to serve in the Kingdom of God?  You may wonder if this business of knowing and bearing your cross even matters. It does. Jesus said that we would take up our cross daily and follow Him. Just as the following must be preceded by denial of self, so, too, it must be preceded by taking up our cross on a daily basis. As we begin our day, let us start by picking up our cross, that we might follow close to our Lord, who embraced His own cross for us.