Growth Points & Pains Part 2- Take Up Your Cross

For Part 1, read here.

Let's review the text:

"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.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: 
and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."
-Matthew 16:24, 25

Part 2 is cleverly titled: Take Up Your Cross.

What exactly does this mean?

#1: Take. Not shoved on you-it's a choice, your choice, whether or not you will follow. Following Him cannot be forced. If it could, Christ wouldn't be a loving King, but a heartless dictator, like Adolf Hitler, threatening and killing those who will not walk in his ways. But thank God He's not like that at all. He created us all with a free will, with the ability to choose.

#2: Up. Besides being the title of a great movie by PIXAR (if you haven't seen it, see it. It's seriously that good.) , "up" is the direction in which our cross is to go. We can't drop it and it isn't to be dragged behind, but to be lifted. "Up" lends to the idea of being borne on the shoulders. This is the easiest way to carry a burden. Says the girl who's backpacked across Disney World. :)

#3: Your. He doesn't say to carry His cross. That would be taking our salvation in our own hands. Instead we are to carry what He has given us, and He NEVER gives more than we can bear-with His grace.

#4: Cross. This is a hard bite to swallow, so let us chew it well. A cross could  be a number of things. It might be an infirmity. Persecution. A haunting past. You might stammer like Moses or have a thorn in the flesh like Paul. But Christ has a greater call in mind than any cross we will ever come up with. I wish I could tell you what it is. But it is different for everyone.

Take my examples: Moses and Paul.

Moses had murdered a man, lived in wealth and suffered a speech impediment.
God called him, changed him, and became a great leader, a shepherd, who spoke God's word and Law to God's people and saved many lives with his prayers.

Paul loved to tell his testimony. He had been a Pharisee, a wealthy man. He had dragged Christians to prison and to their deaths. God called him, changed him and he became, arguably, the most famous missionary and martyr in history who through his ministry and pure love, won untold numbers to Christ.

What do you have that Christ wants you to lay down, and take up...are you ready?