Take Up Your Cross

Luke 9:23 ESV

“And He said to all, ‘if anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his  cross daily and follow Me.”

 In context, what Jesus meant by this verse was that His disciples had to be willing to count the cost of following Jesus. He was asking His disciples  two thousand years ago, when the cross meant a cruel death, “Are you willing to die to follow Me.”

 It takes commitment, total surrender to follow Jesus whole heatedly. It requires self-sacrifice. We must be willing to give up all including our lives in order to follow Jesus. Dying to self is absolute surrender to God.

Many people think that this verse means that we carry some burden in this life. Things like a strained relationship, a thankless job, a physical illness, or some trouble, etc. Jesus is not speaking of a burden. He is speaking of total commitment to following Him, giving up everything to follow Him.

Prayer:

Lord, Luke recorded You as saying that we have to take up our cross daily to follow You. We hear You saying to us this morning and every morning, to count the cost, be committed, be who we say we are, Christians, every day. This morning, we choose to forsake all to follow You. In Your name Lord Jesus we give our lives, Amen!