|
From
the September, 2005 edition of The Chapel newsletter
by
Paul Kiel
“Carry Your
Cross”
When reading
Luke 9:23, I can’t help but wonder what the reaction of the
disciples was when they heard Jesus say, “If anyone would come
after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and
follow me.”
I am struck by the realization that Jesus said these words long
before his arrest and humiliating execution as a common
criminal. And it would be a long time before the disciples would
be able to grasp the full meaning of this and many other things
Jesus taught them about Himself. The disciples may not have
immediately understood this, but they probably would not have
dismissed it either, for they knew what it meant to carry a
cross. Perhaps they never imagined that day that Jesus would one
day be arrested and put to death on a cross. They may have
wondered if His statement held a deeper meaning - a meaning they
had yet to figure out.
In Jesus’ day, to pick up and carry a cross was the last act a
condemned person would perform before being executed. They would
be forced to participate in their own execution. A
self-sacrifice, if you will. Death on a cross was slow, painful
and public. In the Roman Empire, people were crucified for a
wide range of crimes. Some were put to death for horrible ones -
ones that we could possibly justify; others simply for speaking
out against Rome. (Free speech was not considered a God-given
right at that time.)
But, if we think today about Jesus’ words, “Take up your
cross…”, they take on new meaning because, unlike the disciples,
we have the benefit of hindsight. We can see that His words
“take up your cross” is meant for us to sacrifice our lives and
our wills daily and live for Christ, not for self. It is the
overt and public recognition of Christ’s death on the cross -
showing the world that we live for Him. To do this daily we need
to make it a habit - as regular as breathing. When we take up
our cross, we willingly carry with us the memory of what Jesus
freely did for us, and respond by answering His call to follow
Him and be like Him.
Carrying a cross is often thought of as bearing a heavy burden.
However, in
1 Corinthians 1:18, it says, “The message of the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being
saved it is the power of God.” Simon of Cyrene, who carried
Christ’s cross on that lonesome Friday morning, had the unusual
“privilege” of carrying it without the sentence of death that
came with it. Like Simon, we now have that same privilege of
carrying the cross of Christ and enjoying the gift of it’s
saving power, without the sentence of eternal death. Let us heed
the words of our Savior and carry our crosses daily and live for
Him.
Yours in Christ,
Paul R. Kiel
Back
to The Deacon's Desk main page |
