And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me
(Mt.10:38).
Consider the cross. It was once a symbol of death, but
now a symbol of beauty to adorn wearers of necklaces, earrings, and the like. The cross
was a symbol of the end--to take up the cross was to walk a road of hopelessness and
helplessness. It once evoked feelings of dread and despair in the hearts of those who
lived in the time of Roman crucifixions. But it now evokes thoughts and feelings of
pleasantry as one gazes upon its aesthetic qualities or craftsmanship. And yet there are
those who still look upon it today with an entirely different outlook. To them it is a
symbol of life through the death of one, it is a symbol of hope and new beginning and it
is a symbol of the manifest love of a Heavenly Father for his children. Within these
sentiments we find the true meaning of the cross.
During this season, we take a closer look at the cross. We consider what it meant to the
people of the time and what it means to us today. And we consider what it meant to Christ
and to His Father. We remember how Christ took up a cross, and willingly gave up His life
so that many others could find life. Christ, "who for the joy set before him endured
the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God"
(Heb.12:2). And we consider how "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so
that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor.5:21).
We consider "what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be
called the sons of God" (1 Jn.3:1). And how great a love this is, for "Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (Jn.15:13).
And "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone
might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom.5:7-8). And "Hereby perceive we the
love [of God], because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down [our] lives
for the brethren" (1Jn.3:16).
So now let us consider the cross in our own lives today and every day. How Christ says to
us, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily
and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life
for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or
forfeit his very self?" (Lk.9:23-25). Therefore we do not look at the cross to see
Jesus alone, but to see that we should say even as Paul, "I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in
the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for
me" (Gal.2:20).
The world once looked upon the cross as a symbol of suffering and shame. Much of the world
around us today looks upon it as a religious icon without considering its implications, or
they simply see it as an adornment worn on necklaces and the like--seeing it as not much
different than a peace symbol. And though it invokes thoughts of Christ's sacrifice and
death in the hearts of Christ's followers, it equally carries a meaning of self-death and
self-sacrifice in the hearts of those who will follow Christ each day--giving up rights to
personal desires and wants in this lifetime.
Consider the cross. How far will you carry it? How willing are you to die to self and
personal desires so that you can live to Christ? Will you say as Paul, "For me to
live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil.1:21). Will you forfeit your rights to a
life of your choice on this earth so that God's glory may be manifested in Heaven?
Remember once again Christ's words, "whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole
world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"
It was necessary that Christ should die that others, through Him, might live; and it is
necessary for us to die to self if we want to see a dying world find life in Christ
through us.
And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me
(Mt.10:38).
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