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Luke
9:23 ... Then he [Jesus]
said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and
take up his cross daily and follow me."
There have been many times I've heard people refer to
this verse when they have to face various situations in their lives. One
woman told me her lazy husband was her cross to carry. Yet another told me
her cross was her son who was always getting into trouble with the police. A
teen told me his/her (not sure of gender because the discussion was in a
chat room and the username was gender neutral) cross was a non-Christian
family that's always "bashing" him/her for being a Christian and treating
them worse than a stray dog.
Are any of these true crosses? What does the verse
actually mean? The verses that follow the verse I quoted are the
explanation. The cross Jesus speaks of is our spiritual equivalent of the
physical cross he carried and then died upon.
The cross was a device used as a form of torture that
led to death. Your lazy husband or resident juvenile delinquent is not a
cross. Sure, the Bible tells us to die to ourselves and serve him and these
things may involve emotions and behaviors we have to overcome in ourselves,
but that doesn't make them true crosses. You may even think you're facing a
torturous existence that's almost unbearable, but still no crosses here.
When Jesus was crucified, our sins were nailed to the
cross. He carried the burdens of the sins we'd never be able to carry
ourselves. In this I see the crosses we're told to carry to be the burdens
of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We're to do whatever we can to help
them as long as by doing so we're not going against God's will. This doesn't
mean doing all your lazy husbands chores or constantly bailing your juvenile
delinquent out of jail. It means we're to help them in a way that improves
and strengthens their relationship with God and other people. Or, if they
haven't yet accepted God's truth, help them discover the truth.
Of the three examples I gave, the only one that can be
considered a spiritual cross is the teen with a non-Christian family. While
the family would have the teen deny Christ and follow the ways of the world,
the kid is carrying his/her cross and clinging to it with every bit of
strength he/she has. The teen would rather die than deny Christ (Luke 9:24),
cut ties with his/her biological family to remain in God's family (Luke
9:25), and isn't ashamed of following Christ (Luke 9:26).
Taking up our crosses and following Jesus means to be
able to do as he did thousands of years ago. He proclaimed the gospel, faced
persecution, and lived with the threat of death almost daily. Christians who
are being thrown in jail, losing their jobs, having their homes and churches
destroyed, or being put to death for doing nothing more than being followers
of Christ or for proclaiming the Gospel are showing us what it means to pick
up our crosses daily and follow Jesus.
So are you ashamed of Christ and the Gospel? Are
you embarrassed to let other people know you're a Christian? Would you
rather follow the ways of the world instead of our Lord? Is your only excuse
because you're afraid of the way other people will treat you if they know
you follow Jesus? Are you afraid that you may be killed for your allegiance
to the Lord and Savior of your soul? If you answered yes to any of these
questions, you need to find the strength and courage to take up your cross.
This is what Jesus expects and that's what's meant by the statement made in
Luke 9:23. |
