What Does It Mean To Bear Your Cross?

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt. 16:24).

The cross mentioned has been erroneously explained to mean the hardships, afflictions, or trials Christians suffer as they follow Jesus.  A woman that is married to a drunkard often misinterprets her burden as a cross she bears for the Lord.

          One popular hymn says:

Must Jesus bear the cross alone,

        And all the world go free?

No, there’s a cross for every one,

        And there’s a cross for me.

           The truth is, Jesus DID bear the cross ALONE, that I might go free.  Believers do not share with Christ any part of the payment for their sins.   Jesus’ blood shed upon Calvary’s cross ALONE was enough to atone for every sin ever committed upon the face of the earth.

The adversities of life are NOT crosses we must bear to follow Christ.   Even the unsaved have their share of troubles, but these are not “crosses” God has given them to bear.

So, what is the cross that we are to bear?  First, the context of Matthew 16:21-24 reveals it to be a CROSS OF REJECTION.  Jesus was about to be rejected.  As followers of Christ, we will also suffer the rejection of loved ones and so-called friends.

Second, it is a CROSS OF RECKONING. Jesus rebuked Peter’s objection to His prediction of suffering the death of the cross by saying, “…thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”  When we bear OUR cross, we reckon the things of God to be of greater value than the things that be of men.

Third, it is a CROSS OF RESTRAINT.  Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him DENY HIMSELF, and take up HIS cross…”  Instead of living for SELF, we live to DENY SELF.  That doesn’t set too well in this modern age of “self-love,” “self-help,” “self-actualization,” and “self-esteem.”  Yet, Paul predicted in the last days men would be  preoccupied with SELF instead of denying self (2 Tim. 3:1-2).

Lastly, it is a CROSS OF REDIRECTION.  We now follow Christ.  Where He leads me, I will follow.

Have YOU taken up YOUR cross?