Stuff Jesus: Carry your cross

Towards the end of Jesus' ministry he told his disciples, If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. Our human nature wants us to please ourselves, not deny ourselves. Once again, God's kingdom is the complete opposite of the world. You don't literally have to carry a cross but you have to sacrifice your own desires to do what Jesus would do instead. For example, instead of selfishly spending all of your money on yourself, you need to help those in need and share it with others. Instead of using bad language like many others at school, you need to speak things that are holy, good and uplifting. These are not really big sacrifices considering that Jesus sacrificed his like for you.

When someone was crucified in New Testament times, part of the sentence was to carry their cross through the town. Not only was this difficult, it was also shameful. Often we feel ashamed or embarrassed about being a Christian because it means we don't fit in with our non-christian friends. Hebrews 12:2 says, But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing. He did this because of the joy that God put before him. We should accept any shame for being a follower of Jesus because of the joy we will experience when we spend eternity with him. 

For more information on the 'follow me' part of this verse, see the devotion on 18th May 2021.