Why Everyone Should Wear a Cross
Matthew 16 says: Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
Jim Carrey once said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
Words of wisdom from someone who’s “dumb and dumber.”
Have you ever thought of how profound the words of Jesus are when He says: If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me? Jesus said these words before He went to the cross; probably long before He went to the cross. So, what would those bizarre words have meant to the disciples as they heard Him speak them?
The way that Matthew prefaces this discourse, is that it was just shortly before Jesus says these words that He tells the disciples that He must suffer and die soon, but Matthew does not say that crucifixion was discussed as the means by which He would die. So, if Jesus had not included that minor detail, it would seem that Jesus is making following Him look like a death sentence. He makes following Him look horrific, painful, and not the least bit enticing. He seems to be painting a picture of dead men walking, on that slow movement toward the worst possible fate. In fact, Jesus goes further, I’m sure after letting that opening sentence settle in for a bit, and says that if we don’t expect the Christian life to have elements of that slow walk toward inevitability, perhaps we’re missing the sense of what the greater glory to come needs preparation for.
Chasing after riches without the weight of the cross on our shoulders is folly. I hope the disciples remembered these words as Matthew did when they took the message of Christ wherever they could. I hope we remember it as well. There’s something to be said about feeling the weight of the cross when we get tempted to follow a path that doesn’t include stretching our faiths as Jesus was stretched out on His cross.
Taking up our cross means that we have a burden of great direction. When you carry a cross, there is only one direction you are going. Jesus wants us to realize what so many people don’t, that when death looks you in the face, people are busy making deals to put it off. When the world comes chanting a victory song, we look for a way to jump on the bandwagon and make that victory song ours. But sometimes being on that bandwagon means we’ve compromised something beyond our perimeter. And Jesus asks if it’s worth it.
The bandwagon of riches is not always the answer. Be careful with how you balance your cross on one shoulder and your pursuits on the other. Amen.
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