Bear Your Cross

Two articles precede this one: Love One Another and Abide In My Word. This is the third part of a four part series discussing Jesus’ call to discipleship. My intent in this series is to better understand who Jesus is in our lives. When we begin to understand who Jesus is in our lives I believe we begin to make some changes in the way we think and the way we do things – which is precisely Jesus’ intent.

Perhaps the first thing we must realize is the commands Jesus gives to us as disciples – aren’t something that is easily done or easily followed. In fact I’m sometimes reminded of Mark Twain’s book, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” when Huck Finn says, “Well then, what’s the use of learning to do right when it’s so troublesome to do right and ain’t no trouble to do wrong?”

Ain’t that the truth? It ain’t no trouble to do wrong, but it’s troublesome to do right. It is harder to do right – it is harder to follow the right path, make the right decisions, to live the life Jesus calls us to.

And this is why Jesus tells his followers, if you are going to come to me – to follow me – to be my disciple – you need to be ready to bear your cross.

Jesus doesn’t hide the fact that this is a difficult road to follow. In fact he’s quite straightforward about this with all of his followers. Luke 14:25-35 begins with these words, “Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.””

This command of discipleship that Jesus’ gives is a strong one isn’t it? And I wonder if he perhaps trying to weed out those who are less serious about following him? I’m not sure that is the case, but rather I believe he is being straightforward with everyone as to what it takes to be a disciple of his – so they know the cost of discipleship.

I imagine this great crowd who followed Jesus was made up of the same type of people as you and I – we have hurt and sick children in our lives, we doubt who we are at times, we hunger to feel loved. We feel lost, helpless and hopeless, and frightened at times. We too look for answers, need someone to turn to – and Jesus says, hey! That’s me. Turn to me. Be in a relationship with me. Follow me, and I will feed your hunger.

But know this, when you decide to follow me – truly follow me – I will ask you to do things that are not easy. You must love one another – even when it’s not easy to do so. You must abide in my word and know the truth – even though that takes work and sacrifice. And you must be ready to sacrifice. You must be ready to take up your cross.

I believe that there are those in our world who would say I don’t think we should focus on how hard it’s going to be – how troublesome it is to do right. I believe there are those who may say I don’t want to hear the bad news or the price I have to pay – just tell me about how good it will be in the end.

Yet as Jesus says – if you are building a tower – or are embarking on something big – would you not count the cost first? Don’t you want to know how much material you’ll need, how much labor is necessary, how much wages you’ll need to pay so you don’t get stuck after just laying the foundation? You’ll want enough to finish the job. And I am glad for Jesus’ words – he lays out for us just how difficult it will be to follow him so there are no false hopes or expectations or misleading idea that this is a walk in the park.

I think in particular Jesus spoke to this crowd and his disciples about how hard it is to truly follow him because he knew what was coming. He spoke of the necessity of a total commitment – even to the point of death. And he was harsh in his words – wasn’t he?

Hate your mother, your father, your wife and children and brothers and sisters, and yes – even your own life if you are going to be my disciple – these are harsh, bold words that would catch anyone’s attention.

Why did he speak so harshly? He knew what lay ahead for those who would follow him. Throughout the history of Christianity we have heard story after story of persecution beginning with the disciples of Jesus.

Andrew (Jesus first disciple) died on a cross.
Simon (the Zealot) was crucified.
Bartholomew was flayed alive.
James (the son of Zebedee and brother of John) was beheaded.
The other James (the son of Alphaeus) was beaten to death.
Thomas (Doubting Thomas) was run through with a lance.
Matthias (who was added to the Apostles after Jesus’ resurrection) was stoned and then beheaded.
Matthew (the wealthy tax collector who made the decision to follow Jesus rather than becoming wealthier) was slain by the sword.
Peter (the rock on whom the church was built) was crucified upside down.
Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows.
Philip was hanged.

Only John made it through alive but he was exiled to a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea – the Patmos Island.

The demands that Jesus makes upon those who would follow him are extreme. Christianity is not a Sunday morning religion. It is a hungering after God to the point of death if need be. It shakes our foundations, topples our priorities, pits us against friend and family, and makes us strangers in this world. When we take on the responsibility of being a disciple of Jesus we are doing more than just making a decision.

The decision is the first part, the first step of this journey, and in that first step we enter in to a lifelong relationship with Jesus. The decision part of this whole thing might be the easiest of it all!

We must understand that Jesus calls us into a relationship and not just a decision. When we first commit ourselves to being a disciple of Jesus we understand that we have a lifetime journey of learning just what this means. I think we have to understand that we don’t take this decision or relationship lightly. Likewise we must understand there is a cost to being in this relationship. It’s not easy my friends.