Take Your Cross

An "Aha" moment

A few days ago while reading, I fell upon Matthew 16:24 and did a retake as if I had read this for the first time. I mean, I know that most likely, many of you, like me, have read this chapter and these verses many, many times. Yet, for me, it was an "aha!" moment and I had to go back and read it again.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, Let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." So, I looked at the other gospels and found what was making such a radical move inside of me. 

Before the Cross of Jesus

Jesus says this to his disciples, to his followers before He was crucified. He takes the time to go into detail about those who wish to come after him to deny themselves. He asks them to put aside our selfish interests and forget about what mattered most to them at that moment. Perhaps it was their desire for Him to be the promised Messiah that was going to put everyone in their place. Maybe it was their readiness to follow Him into a battle to fight for their people and their freedom. Here was Jesus, the Promised One, asking them to make a choice. 

That choice was not only to deny their ways but to them, if they wanted to follow Him, to take us their cross. Can you imagine the indignation and the look on the faces as they reacted to what He was implying. A cross? But crosses were used for prisoners, for those who deserved death, and for those who were guilty. Jesus, you mean that you want me to forget about myself and identify with what the cross represents? You want me to take up the cross, my cross, as if it something to feel proud of when in fact it is a symbol of shame, scorn, and pain. It is the price paid for those who had done so wrong and you want me, ME, to take not a cross, by MY cross as it has my name on it?

Here was the Anointed One, giving them a glimpse of what He was doing for them. He was doing it for you and me as well. Jesus, the Messiah, the Word before Time, was asking them to do what He had already chosen to do for humanity. He denied His throne, his Majestic and Amazing place in the heavens, to choose to follow after the heart of mankind by taking up a cross, a symbol of every pain, every care and every wrong, and not only carry it upon His back, but allow Himself to be placed on it and carry the sin and the hurts of every heart, past, present and future. 

He stood still on that cross and bled to show that if we also chose to follow and carry our cross, we also would be victorious over sin and death. We too would not remain on that cross that represented death but we would be part of the Life that He had before time and provided for us all after overcoming death and sin on that cross. He invited them and He invites us to make a choice, to deny ourselves, to follow Him, to take our cross and follow after Him. Jesus had not even been arrested yet, and we find Him speaking about carrying a cross, your cross, my cross and following Him. 

Invited to Carry my Cross

It's in carrying our cross that we face our demons, deal with our hurts and pains because then we get to lay all our issues at the foot of that cross. His Spirit in us breathes new life into us and just as He rose again, we can see look forward to a new life because of what He has done in us and for us.

I find it amazing that Jesus would talk about taking your cross in order to follow us. Today, we wear the cross as a statement and many as fashion. But, Jesus is asking us to take our stand in choosing who we will serve and follow Him completely and wholeheartedly. 

Lord, help me to carry the cross before me. Keep my eyes on You and You alone. Lord, I need You to guide me as I walk with my heart desiring your path and to walk in your ways. I choose to follow after you. Show me any and all areas in my life that I still need to let go of, or I still need to surrender to you. Help me to deny my way, my choices, my selfishness, my choices based on how I have been hurt or how others have mistreated and let me down. Change my heart to love you and love others. Love through me when my response is anger and separation. Let your cross and the cross you ask me to carry ever be before me as I follow you. May I never forget the cost of my salvation and the life you provided for me through your death on that cross. Let my heart be full of hope and full of joy!

Written by Angeline Duran Santiago