We don’t like the idea of suffering. In fact, many of us will go to extensive lengths not to suffer. We go along with incorrect viewpoints, so we are not ostracized by our friends. Even if we disagree, we stay silent. We may even commit petty crimes to be accepted by others.
Why do we do these things when we know they are wrong? Why are we so averse to suffering or so committed to being accepted by people who clearly do not believe what we believe? Is it because our faith is not as strong as it should be? Is it because we want to be popular?
Jesus tells His disciples that they must pick up their cross and follow Him. He tells us the same today. In the case of the disciples of the first century, some of them did literally have to carry their cross and were crucified. Yet, that is not the case for us today. Our cross is the possibility of being shunned, ostracized, and ridiculed for our belief in Jesus and His Word.
My suspicion is we spend more time reading romance novels than the Bible. We spend more time reading history or fantasy novels or news than the Bible. We spend more time perusing the internet whether shopping or watching videos than reading the Bible. We don’t spend time seeking to understand Jesus’ teaching, yet we want Him to bless us.
Here is what I’ve discovered. The more time I spend in God’s Word, the more I am blessed. My blessings include peace, joy, love, self-awareness, an awareness of God in my life, and seeing others as Jesus sees them. Much of that is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). As I experience those things in my life, I also experience others opposing me because they are thinking of earthly things.
The cross Jesus asks us to carry is one that is in opposition of earthly thought. It is one of seeking to understand and follow His heavenly thought. Our cross is to be countercultural, just like He was. Not simply to be rebellious for rebelliousness’s sake, but to be in sync with the Holy Spirit. Being of the same mind as Jesus will naturally put us at odds with the world.
I pray we all seek to be of the same mind as Jesus. I pray we seek to be in sync with the Holy Spirit. I pray each one of us will pick up our cross and follow Jesus, just as He has asked us to do. Read God’s Word. Seek to know Jesus. Seek to be in sync with the Holy Spirit. Pick up your cross and follow Jesus.
Mark 8:34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Marty Pressey 