My Cross to Bear
I sometimes get headaches when I don’t drink coffee in the morning.
It’s my cross to bear.
I don’t make a big deal of it; it’s just something I live with.
Also, I’m still recovering from a concussion. I’m working through it, finding ways to manage symptoms and push my thresholds to pre-concussion activity.
It’s my cross to bear.
I don’t make a big deal of it; it’s just something I live with.
It’s a pretty common statement, “It’s my cross to bear.” But have you stopped to think about what we’re really saying when we say those words? It obviously originates in the event of Christ dying on the cross and His call for His followers to take up their cross and follow Him:
Mark 8:34: If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
The Luke version of this story adds the word “daily” to the quote.
When I think about it, I’m not sure a caffeine headache or even ongoing minor symptoms from an auto accident really qualify for what Jesus means when He says, “Take up your cross daily and follow me.” I think it has more to do with our all-in attitude of making our daily decisions with Christ at the center of our lives than it does with enduring our minor inconveniences and discomforts of life.
It’s choosing Christ’s way, regardless of what comes our way as a result. What comes our way may include caffeine headaches and concussions, but our cross is not just accepting our life circumstances and working through them, but considering how Christ’s death is our death, and His life is our life! Regardless of what comes our way, the Mercy and Grace that Jesus makes available to us change something about how we face our life decisions.
Consider these thoughts on taking up our cross daily:
It’s seeing purpose in our suffering: It is the human condition to suffer on one level or another. “Taking up our cross daily” is to recognize that suffering is part of life and to submit our suffering to the viewpoint that God can use any and all of it for our good and for His glory.
It’s putting aside our rights and comforts: Americans, especially, value our personal rights and ability to provide for our personal comfort. “Taking up our Cross daily” means that we submit our rights to what Jesus calls us to and give up our comfort if needed for the good of those around us.
It’s dying to ourselves, living to Jesus: Pride often causes us to fight for our own way of living, and it takes effort to put that pride to death and live the way God wants us to live. “Taking up our Cross daily” means that we recognize that we don’t know much about how life is best lived and submit our plans and desires to Christ and His commands.
Let’s press each other on to the Love and Good works that fulfill our joy in following Christ!
It’s my cross to bear.
I don’t make a big deal of it; it’s just something I live with.
Also, I’m still recovering from a concussion. I’m working through it, finding ways to manage symptoms and push my thresholds to pre-concussion activity.
It’s my cross to bear.
I don’t make a big deal of it; it’s just something I live with.
It’s a pretty common statement, “It’s my cross to bear.” But have you stopped to think about what we’re really saying when we say those words? It obviously originates in the event of Christ dying on the cross and His call for His followers to take up their cross and follow Him:
Mark 8:34: If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
The Luke version of this story adds the word “daily” to the quote.
When I think about it, I’m not sure a caffeine headache or even ongoing minor symptoms from an auto accident really qualify for what Jesus means when He says, “Take up your cross daily and follow me.” I think it has more to do with our all-in attitude of making our daily decisions with Christ at the center of our lives than it does with enduring our minor inconveniences and discomforts of life.
It’s choosing Christ’s way, regardless of what comes our way as a result. What comes our way may include caffeine headaches and concussions, but our cross is not just accepting our life circumstances and working through them, but considering how Christ’s death is our death, and His life is our life! Regardless of what comes our way, the Mercy and Grace that Jesus makes available to us change something about how we face our life decisions.
Consider these thoughts on taking up our cross daily:
It’s seeing purpose in our suffering: It is the human condition to suffer on one level or another. “Taking up our cross daily” is to recognize that suffering is part of life and to submit our suffering to the viewpoint that God can use any and all of it for our good and for His glory.
It’s putting aside our rights and comforts: Americans, especially, value our personal rights and ability to provide for our personal comfort. “Taking up our Cross daily” means that we submit our rights to what Jesus calls us to and give up our comfort if needed for the good of those around us.
It’s dying to ourselves, living to Jesus: Pride often causes us to fight for our own way of living, and it takes effort to put that pride to death and live the way God wants us to live. “Taking up our Cross daily” means that we recognize that we don’t know much about how life is best lived and submit our plans and desires to Christ and His commands.
Let’s press each other on to the Love and Good works that fulfill our joy in following Christ!
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