Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.– Luke 14:27
What does Christian discipleship look like? Jesus defines discipleship by saying what it is not. who puts earthly things–even good things–before God cannot be a disciple. One who refuses to “carry his own cross” and follow Jesus in His suffering cannot be a disciple. To follow Jesus—to truly be His disciples, day-in and day-out—we must accept the crosses that come to us: sickness, failure, persecution, pain, and grief, to name only a few.
He says in Matthew that those do refuse to accept their cross are not worthy of Him: “whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38). This tells me that our worthiness as disciples is defined by how well we suffer.
Suffering is a part of life that none of us can escape. We each have a cross to bear; the question I can ask myself is, how well do I carry it? I can look to Christ for the best example of how to bear my cross. Jesus did not lift His cross reluctantly. He did not drag it on the ground. He did not look around to see who He could blame for His Passion. He did not sulk or complain or become angry. He did not procrastinate. Jesus lifted His cross with triumphant purpose because He knew its promise held our redemption. He lifted that terrible yet wonderful cross with the full physical strength of His humanity and the full spiritual strength of his divinity.
Our daily crosses can be redemptive, as well. We can strive to imitate His redemptive love each time we patiently accept and endure the trials that come our way and offer them back to Christ. We can have peace in our sufferings when we lift our crosses triumphantly because we know that our victorious Christ is with us: “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Jesus, I want to be Your disciple. Please help me to carry my cross courageously. Be with me in my suffering and I know I can bear all things through Your strength (Philippians 4:13).