![\"\"](\"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/iStock-517188688-HOME-PAGE-H4F-1024x642.jpg\" "\\"Mountain")
<\/figure><\/div>\nWhen you think of a cross, you may envision a gold necklace or a white fixture atop a church steeple. But when first-century Jews heard the word, they saw a torture device their Roman oppressors invented to execute criminals in the most excruciating way possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, the crowd who followed Jesus must have been shocked when He said, \u201cIf any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me\u201d (Luke 9:23). Take up my cross? Daily? I can almost hear Peter muttering, \u201cA cross? I signed up for a kingdom!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You and I may have a similar misconception about following Jesus. We anticipate and welcome God\u2019s blessings\u2014good health, financial stability, loving families. But what if those blessings are removed or delayed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Easter approaches, it\u2019s tempting to skip over Jesus\u2019s trial, beatings, and crucifixion in our rush to His resurrection. But Jesus repeatedly taught that following Him would be costly and painful. Right before He talks about disciples taking up their cross, He says, \u201cThe Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed\u201d (Luke 9:22).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What cross has God asked you to take up daily? It may be the pain of a child, a spouse, or a parent who is gender confused or pursuing sex-reassignment surgery. It may be the heartache of a loved one entangled in a same-sex relationship. None of us wants to carry a cross. It\u2019s heavy and cumbersome. We want an easier task. And yet Jesus says, \u201cTake up your cross,\u201d even though He knows our cross is heavy and our heart is broken, even though He grieves over the mental anguish we battle day after day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You may be on the verge of giving up. Don\u2019t allow Satan to have that victory. After Jesus struggled in the garden, He emerged triumphant. And like Jesus, even when the pain is so excruciating we don\u2019t think we can take another step or stumble through another day, we still need to go to our Father and say, \u201cNot my will, but thine, be done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One part of Jesus\u2019s journey to Golgotha that I love is the arrival of Simon of Cyrene. Mark alone tells us that he \u201cwas passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross\u201d (Mark 15:21). This tells me that God knows we cannot carry our cross alone. I think it\u2019s more about our willingness to carry it, volunteering to do that hard thing\u2014because we love Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This Easter season as you reflect on Christ\u2019s willingness to suffer for you, consider your willingness to suffer for Him. He promises to walk with you every day, to love you when you\u2019re angry with to strengthen you when you\u2019re weary, and to comfort you when you cry. \u201cTake up your cross\u201d and follow Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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