Taking Up Your Cross

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." -  Matthew 16:24

I am certain that if you are reading this then you are familiar with a number of "go to" verses. Particularly in the New Testament. Matthew 16:24 is one of them. I was thinking about a friend who senses they are being called to full-time ministry. That caused me to think back about Martie's and my journey. How did we end up on the mission field. 

I got to thinking that it was the moment that we decided that what we wanted was no longer important. Money in the bank. A comfortable home. A nice car. A secure future. None of those things mattered when set against God's call for us to leave those things and follow Jesus. That brought to mind another verse. 

"Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." - Matthew 8:19-22

I have known many people that were excited at the thought of following Jesus, but when they were faced with counting the cost - they faltered. Jesus was challenging those disciples to see the world as He saw the world. He told the one, you will have to leave home and there will be no place you can go back to that you would call home. To the second - well first  - we don't know if his father had died or if he wanted to wait until after his father died. In either case - Jesus told him that following Jesus would require sacrifice and a new set of priorities.

That is what happened to us. As Paul said 

"Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ" - Philippians 3:8

Paul set no store in the things that he had once valued - things that guided his choices and decisions until the day he met Jesus on the road. 

I recall talking to some people who were serving - helping in Haiti full time. Some of them complained - incessantly - about how difficult life was in Haiti. I told them that if God had not called them to serve in Haiti then they should go home because doing what we were doing was too difficult if we were doing it on our own. God never calls you to do anything that you can do on your own.

So what to tell my friend - should they ask for my advice. Maybe what I just told you. 

Think about it – Believe it  - Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone