Taking up Your Cross

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Scripture: Luke 9:23-25 (ESV)

23 And he [Jesus] said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

Devotion:

            Jesus had been speaking before this passage only to his twelve disciples. In these verses Jesus has words of instruction for the crowd. That crowd includes us. Jesus words here are not a pep talk or inspirational message of any kind. These words are meant to challenge people, to challenge us. There are many things in these verses that we may overlook since we have heard these words more times than we can count, or we know nothing about them because they appear too difficult to follow. Let us look carefully at these words to grasp what Jesus was saying to the crowds and to us.

            In verse 23 one thing we notice if we look at the Greek text is that all three of the main verbs, deny, take up, follow, are all in the imperative form. Meaning that they are commands. According to our Lord these things must be done if one is to follow Jesus. Let us look at these commands and see what exactly Jesus may be saying to us here. First, we see that that a follower must practice self-denial. We must leave our hopes, dreams, and aspirations in this world behind. Taking up our cross daily is the next requirement for a follow of Jesus. Just as Jesus took up a literal cross and prepared to die, we too must be willing to pick up whatever burden God has chosen for us to bear and follow Christ. Following Jesus is the third imperative. We must not get sidetracked from our mission to follow our Lord.

            Verse 24 states a paradox. What does Jesus mean here? Jesus is simply trying to tell us that unless we are prepared to sacrifice all the things, we are attached to in this world for Jesus’ sake we cannot live our life for Jesus. Saving even one part of our old life, habits, or sins is enough to disqualify a person as a true Jesus follower. If we work at getting rid of all our previous attachments in this world, we can be free to follow Jesus wherever he leads us.

            Finally, verse 25 gives us a counter cultural view of the life of a follower of Jesus. In the world we are taught to accumulate as much stuff as possible to be successful. Jesus is saying here that if we possess Jesus as Lord of our life, we will be wealthy beyond compare. We must resist the world’s attractions to follow Jesus closely. Having Elon Musk type wealth will not get you into heaven. Giving away or having what you have taken from you for the gospel’s sake is the path to a blessed life.

Prayer:

            Lord help us to obey your important commands found here in your world. Help us to let go of the earthly things we so cling to. May we choose to enter your kingdom with empty hands and pockets. Let us deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow you wherever you lead us. Help us to rejoice that we have been chosen to be true disciples. Amen.

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