Pick up your Cross and follow me.
Jesus said that each one who believes in Him as Saviour should pick up their cross and follow Him.
What is the cross we are meant to carry? And how should we carry it?
I have heard many say that a sick relative or even their own sickness is a cross they have to bear. However, I do not believe this is what Jesus actually meant. This is not to say that such things are not terrible burdens for those who suffer. Job’s suffering was not given by God but was inflicted upon Job by the Devil.
Jesus also said, take my yoke upon you for it is light and I will carry it with you.
How do we recognise the cross that we are to carry? I have heard many people say to me the cross that has been put on me is too heavy for me to bear. When we read the verse it says pick up your cross and follow me. This is a voluntary act not an imposition. Voluntary acts should be done with joy not with bitterness.
But it is true that a cross can be too heavy for us. In sport an athlete trains with progressively heavier loads until he can lift, throw etc more than he could before. The same applies spiritually. a new believer has less spiritual strength, wisdom and discernment than a mature Christian. Simply counting the years since becoming a Christian does not mean that one has become mature spiritually. That takes study, practice and prayer.
When I first read this verse, I pictured the cross that Jesus carried, big heavy and me staggering under the weight in my weakness. But then I saw a vision of several crosses lying on the ground. Each cross was of a different size and weight and I was being invited to choose the one I wished to carry at first. It was clear to me that I would be carrying ever bigger and heavier crosses as my spiritual strength increased.
The first cross, was to pray for my children, that they would come to know the Lord as their personal saviour. Which happened. PTL.
The next one was on an action when I was given the responsibility of leading a group of young people doing street drama. The Lord showed me quite clearly that it was my job to pray for them all the time during the action. Let me tell you some of the answers to prayer that the Lord gave during the action.
Tell the stories.
The two talented girls.
The wooden girl.
Sometimes we attempt to carry a cross which is too difficult for us to carry at that stage of our development. And we feel terrible when we feel we must put it down. But God is merciful and He will help us grow until we are capable of picking up that cross at a later time. At the time my children came to faith, the Lord told me to pray for someone who had hurt me very, very badly. And I just couldn’t do it then. Only now more than twenty years later am I beginning to be able to carry that particular cross.
Between my first cross and the most difficult cross to carry I had a number of experiences which helped me to grow as a Christian and in understanding of my tasks. Some crosses can be temporary, like the Action Drama group. Some can be longer lasting- a ministry in other words. Some can lead us into long term intercession or mission work. These should be carried out with joy and praise and worship for the Lord. Each of us have our own cross to carry and it is fashioned to be just the right size and weight for us to carry, joyfully and with thanksgiving.
Jesus gives us the things we need to carry that particular cross. One of the crosses I picked up willingly was to pray for Pastors here in Finland. I didn’t know that many pastors here, just one or two. But the Lord gave me names and I wrote them down in a book and wrote down what I prayed for each one on a daily basis.
One day I was at a tent meeting working as a volunteer. When someone came to me and asked me to pray for them, which I did. Afterward that person told me he was a pastor and asked if I would be willing to pray for him regularly. He told me his name and I said I would add him to my list.
I went to my room got out the book and saw that his name was the first on my list. I had been praying for him for several months already! When I met him later I told him that I wasn’t able to put him on my prayer list and he looked so disappointed until I showed him his name 1st on my list and all that I had prayed for him. That’s how God helps us carry our individual cross.
If you haven’t already picked up the right cross for you. Ask God to show you now what the cross is He has prepared for you. And ask Him to give you the strength and humility to pick it up and carry it joyfully as you follow him.
Amen