disciple

Carry Your Own Cross

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

“And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me,
you cannot be my disciple.”

Luke 14:27 NLT

I’m reading through the book of Luke in preparation for Christmas, and after much thought decided I needed to back up to this verse for a bit.

We celebrate Christmas in honor of Jesus, who is the greatest gift. He came, by His own choice, to die so that we could live. It’s important to note that He didn’t come to bring salvation as it is sometimes casually viewed – essentially a get out of jail free card. He came so that we can LIVE. We aren’t only looking forward to eternity in His presence, but to a full and abundant life right here, a life that counts where His Kingdom is concerned.

Foundational to living, truly living, is being His disciple. Those who heard Him that day, in Luke 14, knew exactly what He was saying when He used the word “disciple.” To be someone’s disciple is to follow their example in all things. It is also to accept and act on their instruction and guidance as they strive to help you mature. Jesus was actually making the offer to all who heard Him, but few would accept the invitation. Why?

In verse 28 He commanded them, “But don’t begin until you count the cost.”

This is wisdom, as He warned in Luke 9:62 NLT: “But Jesus told him, ‘Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.'”

Jesus had already let them know in verse 26 that, if they wanted to be His disciples, they had to count Him as more important than everyone else in their lives, including themselves. And then came verse 27: “And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.”

This verse is quoted so often than I’m not sure we really see it anymore, that we’re not paying full attention to what He’s saying here. I even remember thinking, during one of the really bad times with my husband, “If he is my cross to bear, then I will bear it,” but this verse means so much more!

“But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the Law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse of our wrong doing. For it is written in the Scriptures, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.‘”

Galatians 3:13 NLT

As Christians, we look at this verse and we love it. And why not?! This amazing act of mercy, Christ taking all of our sins on Himself, washing them away with His own blood, changed our lives forever!

But let’s go back to the gathering in Luke 14 and think about where their heads were, where their thoughts must have gone. They couldn’t see what was coming. They were limited by their own knowledge and experience. In their world a cross served one purpose, and Jesus had just told them they would have to take up a cross that would be particularly their own. They wouldn’t be helping Him carry His cross as Simon the Cyrene was forced to do. He was asking each of them to take up their own cross.

This had to set them back, throw them for the proverbial loop. Because they knew.

They knew…
The cross was a sign of being cursed.
The cross was a very public tool of death.
The cross was a clear mark that you were a criminal.
The cross was intentionally demoralizing.
The cross was a cause of shame for the criminal’s family.
The cross was physically backbreaking before you were even put on it.
The cross was an incredibly slow and agonizing death.

If anyone wanted to be His disciple, they had to accept the reality that the cross, at least figuratively, could very well be in their future. Far from offering them the life of comfort many were currently enjoying, the life His abundant miracles might have implied, the life of sunshine and roses that Christians sometimes foolishly promise to potential converts today, He was laying out a heavy truth.

And here it is.

As Christians, genuine disciples of Jesus, while we look forward to the mountaintop experiences, it’s best to be prepared for the hard seasons that will inevitably come, to consider the cost ahead of time and be ready so that we won’t be tempted to look back. Like Jesus, we can expect to be hated, vilified, attacked unmercifully, laughed at, and more.

So… are you ready?

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Meditations: Luke 14:26-27

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Copyright Clarissa Pardue 2014
Copyright Clarissa Pardue 2014

Luke 14:26-27

NLT

“If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me.

       This is Jesus talking and He says five very strong words not once, but twice.

you cannot be my disciple

If He speaks these words to those who followed Him, how much more strongly must they ring in the ears of those of us who carry Him – in whom He has chosen to place His Spirit?

Do I love Him more than I love my own father and mother?

Do I love Him more than I love my husband and children?

Do I love Him more than I love my sisters?

Do I love Him more than I love my own life?

My instant reaction is a resounding, “Yes!” but is this an honest reaction?

As I wrote this meditation several years ago, the holiday season was fast approaching and bringing with it a conflict between our traditional family gathering and a church service. Many families set aside church at such times, but for us this was not an option. We could join our family before or after service, but not instead of service.

Yes, to this day we are active in our church and would be missed were we not there. We may have chosen not to create difficulty by being absent. We could have decided to attend services merely because we knew we would feel guilt if we stayed away. We could choose to forgo fellowship with our earthly family in favor of fellowship with God for any number of reasons. We choose God’s house over the family’s house for one reason above all others. We choose because He has called us to love Him with our entire being, to love Him better than others, and to allow no one and no thing to come between us and Him. He does, on rare occasions, tell us to do something other than come to His house (the church) for our regular services. These times really are rare, however, and for us to absent ourselves without His instruction (express permission) would be a sign that we do not love Him above all others and all else.

Having said all that, I can conclude that yes, I believe I do love Him more than my father and mother, husband and children, sisters… But what about self?

This is where it gets tough for me. In general, I love Him better than my own life – my own self. For decades, my habit has been to crucify my flesh on Sunday mornings and make it get up early when it would rather sleep in. I often bite my tongue and forgive when my flesh pointedly does not want to, simply because the One I love expects it of me. I study His Word and pray because these things are absolute necessities if I am to truly know Him – and I want to know Him. Still…

There are too many times when self/flesh wins the argument. It may be true that I still love Him better than I love my own life in those moments, but you couldn’t tell it by looking at me. I am reminded of a friend’s experience. She was out shopping with her spiritual mentor when a sales clerk messed up. My friend tore into the clerk and then huffed out the door. She apparently felt convicted almost instantly, because she turned to the older lady and muttered, “Well, I guess I wasn’t much of a witness.”

“Oh…” the more mature friend replied, “you were a witness all right.”

Her friend’s point, of course, was that, like a man in the witness’ box at a trial, we are always being watched by those who witness what we say and do. The question is, do we represent our Lord well…or badly? Is our love for God strong enough that it will overpower our love for our own lives, our own selves? Is it powerful enough to still our tongues (as He would wish) when our flesh would rather lash out and cut deeply?

Yes, I do believe I love Him better than I love my own life. I am well aware, however, that I do not always display this love as He desires, that I must continue to crucify the flesh and improve my ability to walk the walk.

 

 

And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me.

 

There is a piece that makes its way around the internet on occasion; this has reminded me of it.

In the story, a man goes to God complaining that his cross is too heavy, too much of a burden to bear. God takes him to a room and gives him permission to lay down his cross and pick up a different one. Going to first one and then the next, he tries each and every cross in the room until his finds the perfect fit. Not surprisingly, the cross he carries from the room is the very same cross he carried in.

Each of us really does have our own cross to bear, and no other person’s cross will do. No matter how rough my life gets, no matter how busy, no matter how complicated, no matter how challenging or downright hard, I know one thing; God has it all planned out and knows exactly what the path ahead of me looks like. The cross I bear fits me for the path, giving me the learning experiences and tools I need to accomplish exactly what God wants me to accomplish, to reach the goals He has set for me. Were I to set aside my own cross and carry another’s cross down the road that lies before me, I would undoubtedly arrive at each turning without important things that I need, unprepared for what I faced and destined to fail.

It is not only obedience to take up our own crosses and follow Jesus; it is absolute necessity. His command to take up our own crosses and follow Him is not a command that creates a burden; it is, rather, a command that fits us for the journey and saves us from carrying burdens that were never meant to be ours.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C