Taking Up Your Cross

Taking Up Your Cross: What It Really Means to Follow Jesus

Psalm 23 begins with a profound declaration: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

If this is true for you, so are all the promises contained in this awesome Psalm – and especially v6: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
 
This challenges us though - to think about and reflect on our closeness to the Shepherd.
To ask ourselves honestly: Is the Lord really my Shepherd? Is this true for me?

There is an uncomfortable call not only to Christ’s Disciples in Mark 8:34, (but also to those in the crowd – who perhaps believed – but were just tagging along). Jesus invites all true followers to self-denial: "Let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me."
First-century listeners, knew exactly what Jesus was implying – to take up one’s cross- meant only one thing – DEATH!  Shocking to the hearers. I think what Jesus was driving at – was the kind of death – He is calling us to today – and that is a “dying to ourselves” and our persistent impulses to stray.

The Difference Between Believers and Disciples 
Believers accept Jesus through faith, securing salvation. Disciples have done so as well – however, they’ve also decided to devote their lives to following Jesus more closely - obeying Him as best they can. Though we may fall short – the Good Shepherd – picks us up – untangles us from the brambles - rescues us out of ravines and fights off all predators. He anoints our head with oil - washes our feet and sets us on the right path again. Our level of intimacy with Christ is our choice—we decide how close to sit with Him at His table. We have all been invited – where we sit – is up to us.

The Baggage We Carry Romans 12:1 – compels us to be a “living sacrifice”.
– A ‘Sacrifice’, in the traditional sense - always ends up dead. In this case God calls us - to be a “living sacrifice”. We die to self – but live in Him. To set – self … on God’s altar of Fire and Grace (we offer up any and all of our besetting sins) —fear, pride, anger, gluttony, jealousy, lust, etc. These aren’t the cause - they are only symptoms of the disease. When we allow Jesus into our lives and allow Him to ask (like He asked the man at the Pool of Bethesda in John 5) “Do you want to be made well?” – He is able to heal – at once - “Pick up your mat and walk” - Our cure requires our permission. Once we give the OK – and go to Him in desperate prayer - the Holy Spirit begins to work backward in our lives to dig up the root cause of our disobedience – which many times spring up from feelings of rejection or a sense of abandonment (not always – I’m not being dogmatic at all – there can be many causes – allow the Holy Spirit to reveal what it is for you). I have just seen many times that these roots lead to– the branches of great “poverty” Mother Theresa described -  of - "being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for" –

Feelings Are Real 
Our feelings are real and to compensate for our pain (whenever we are triggered) - we can self-medicate, self-insulate, self-protect or self-soothe by acting out -(with the symptoms I listed earlier -and others I didn’t list) - and these symptoms - lead to our addictions - which cause us to keep our distance from God. Jesus our Good Shepherd knows these things about us already and desires not only to wash our feet, but to remove the underlying roots. (“The Axe is at the root of the tree”- Matt 3:10).

The Root Beneath the Symptom 
Our struggles often reflect deep-rooted issues. Like the Apostle Paul said in Romans 7:15, we can know what to do yet struggle to act. The Holy Spirit invites us to identify and remove these roots, asking us to honestly face them in prayer. In the answer of the lame man – to the question - "Do you want to get well?" – we see that his excuse - mirrors our own comfort in dysfunction. Jesus calls us to healing – in every area of our life; asking if we truly wish to move beyond our old selves – to “’Follow Him’ - beyond the Cross.

Replacing What We Lay Down 
To embrace Christ's Spiritual gifts, we must relinquish our burdens. When we lay down self – we are able to take up the fruit of the Spirit and grow in them—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—these are all ours if we surrender the old self. This is the heart of discipleship. We not only believe - we act!

The Shepherd Who Knows You 
God, your Creator, (the one who built you - from scratch) knows your struggles intimately (He know all of our – ‘short circuits’ - where our wires have gotten crossed) and is the only one who can ‘un-tangle’ your mess. Following Him fully means trusting Him completely. "Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him." (Charles Stanley)

-  This year, consider your response to His invitation: "Do you want to be made well?" - The table is set, and your seat is waiting. - Amen! God Bless - Pastor Bob

Sometimes random - sometimes not - some things I think - measured against scripture.

  "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."  
~ 2 Timothy 2:15