Take Up Your Cross

April 11

Deuteronomy 19-20

Psalm 44:9-16

Proverbs 10:31-32

Luke 9:18-36

Take Up Your Cross

“And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.  For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?’”  Luke 9:23-25 LSB

Recently a friend told me that she went to her pastor because she was concerned about some of his teaching in sermons expressing that they did not line up with Biblical truth.  He told her that they are trying to make the gospel more palatable for a wider audience.  (She no longer attends that church.)   I knew that was definitely going on.  We have been seeing that for several years with the “Seeker Sensitive” movement, but I was shocked to hear that a pastor actually said it out loud.  Our passage today is from the red-letter part, you know, the part that Jesus Himself spoke.  These words are not seeker sensitive.  In this passage, Jesus talked to His disciples about self-denial, sacrifice and surrender.  He explained to them that this is what it means to be a genuine follower of Christ.  He says nothing about living your best life now, getting ahead, being successful, or being free of difficulty and pain.  Anyone promoting those things is preaching a false gospel.  They are false teachers and are leading many people straight to hell.  Jesus was very clear in His teaching.  We do not need to change His words to make them more palatable.  Do we actually believe we can come up with better words than Jesus to use to draw people to Himself? 

            Jesus had just explained to His disciples that He was going to suffer and be killed.  Then He told them that if they were going to follow Him it was going to cost them something as well.  They were going to have to deny themselves.  They had to give up their own dreams, desires, ambitions, and anything else that kept them from fully committing to Him.  He explained that this was to be a daily endeavor choosing the life Jesus had for them over any other pursuit.  The cross symbolizes Jesus’ willingness to humbly lay down His life for the sake of others.  If they were going to follow Christ, their lives needed to reflect the sacrifice He made for them as they died to self and humbly served like Jesus.  It meant surrendering in every situation to His will and plan instead of their own, giving themselves as a living sacrifice in service to God. Jesus expected total surrender.  This message was not just intended for His disciples.  It is a message to anyone who chooses to follow Jesus. Following Jesus requires a recognition that His way is best, He created us, loves us and desires good for us.  We will not always understand what is going on in our lives or why, but we can rest in the knowledge that His will and plan is perfect.  Self-denial, sacrifice and surrender is the path to following Jesus.  Are you a genuine follower of Jesus?