Take up your Cross
Scripture
When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. - Mark 8:34-35
Observation
Jesus first calls us to Himself but not everyone will heed to this call. Why ? Because In this scripture He said to them “whoever desires to come after Me” it’s safe to say not everyone will have this desire. To desire is to have a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. Unfortunately not everyone feels this way about Jesus in today’s world. The rest of the scripture is directed to those who fall into this category. Jesus says we need to deny ourselves and take up our cross. To deny ourselves is to lose sight of ourselves and our interests. To deny myself means Jesus calls the shots in my life , I don’t . It means being okay to say no to my desires, wants and will if they don’t align with His. When I picture carrying a cross like Jesus did, it suggests a decision that will not be light or feel rosy always . To deny myself means not satisfying the pleasures of my flesh such as lust, gossip , fornication etc. When I think of carrying a cross literally, it'll require me to focus on the direction and discern where we are heading since He knows the route and I don’t . Now Jesus was on the way to die when He was carrying His cross to Calvary , what makes us think walking down that same path won’t have us walking on a death row also ? . Denying myself is dying to my flesh. Desiring to save yourself means you’re not denying yourself. It’s in denying yourself you lose your life.
This reminds me of the scripture that says many are called but few are chosen .(Matthew 22:14) Are the chosen ones the ones who are able to fulfil what this scripture is saying ?
Application
When you follow someone you have no idea where you’re going until they tell you . They call the shots you don’t . Knowing this I need to ask for directions and seek the face of God without fail everyday . if I don't desire Jesus, I need to pray for Him to give me the ability to. I need to be okay with letting go of my wants, desires and will if they go against the word of God. There’s things I’d rather do, situations or people I’d entertain for self pleasure but I have to deny these things so I can follow Jesus.. There’s an error if I say I’m following Jesus and still stuck in my old ways. There’s an error if I’m following Jesus and it’s all rosy everyday because carrying a cross is not a walk in the park. If you say yes to your life now eventually you will lose it because eternal condemnation will be your portion. However if you lose your life now and allow the Jesus to be Lord over your life then you’d save it because eternal life will be yours.
Prayer
Heavenly Father thank You for word today. I say yes to following you. However I recognise it will not be an easy decision. I pray Your Holy Spirit helps me to carry my cross to follow you every single day. I Pray You help me to die to my flesh and worship You in truth and in spirit. In Jesus Name I Pray Amen.