“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” — Mark 8:34b
Christlikeness? Here’s how
We can interpret the “cross” as a burden such as an unrewarding job, a physical illness, or some other unpleasant experience. With self-pitying pride, we can look at our difficulty and say, “That’s my cross I have to carry.” Such an idea is not what Jesus means when He says, “Take up your cross and follow Me.”
In a February 2022 blog titled, “What Does It Mean to Deny Yourself and Take Up Your Cross?” Christy Gambrell writes that we are not occasionally called to pick up a certain cross for a certain time. She says we are called to an entire way of life.
“We often speak of whether we are willing to ‘count the cost’ of discipleship,” Gambrill writes. “But the real issue is not the costliness of following Jesus—it’s our willingness to follow him regardless of the cost. The greatness or littleness of the cost is no longer emphasized; rather, all of life is to be surrendered to him.”
Taking up the cross had only a literal meaning in Jesus’ day, which was a submission to your own death. Remembering that the crowd-gathering healer attracted people who sought immediate wellness only and/or a free lunch, Jesus does not call us to a short-sighted ‘one and done’ commitment on a good day. Rather, His call to take up our crosses is an exclusive allegiance and complete submission to a way of life that is His way, not ours.
Gambrill shares that our cross-bearing does not eradicate or repress the self. Rather, the Holy Spirit works through us in the most amazing way. Each day that we carry the cross of surrender, we grow in Christlikeness and become more fully who we were created to be.
PRAYER: With this cross I am carrying, dear Jesus, I pray I grow in Christlikeness today and each day that follows. Amen.