The Way of The Cross
Hanging on the wall in my home office is a crucifix. No, there is nothing magical or miraculous about it. It is just a bit of formed metal and plastic; however, it does play an important reminder in my life. It is a reminder that my life has been bought with an incredible great price; a price paid by Jesus himself. He died on a cross so we might live.
In this broken world Jesus calls us to follow him and travel our own way of the cross.
Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it. – Luke 9:23-24 (CSB)
The cross becomes a reminder that when we enter into salvation, our life is no longer our own. We are called to live our life for God’s glory.
The Cross Is…
- A disrupter – For some of us the impact of the cross rushes upon us quickly; for others, it is more gradual. As we grow in faith the cross disrupts our priorities, how we think, and our world view.
- A shaker of kingdoms – Jesus’ work on the cross shook the kingdom of this world to its core. Sin is no longer a barrier to our relationship with God, and we are called to live as part of his kingdom, while living in this imperfect world. What we thought was our world has been turned upside down. To find life we give ours away.
To Walk the Way of the Cross – Take up our Cross daily
- Fight daily / struggle against our sin – We have been fully redeemed by Jesus’ work on the cross, but for now we still struggle against sin. Sin still tries to lure us away. So we do battle using the weapons of God’s word, prayer, self- discipline, repentance, and the power of the Holy Spirit. We know our efforts often fail, so we stand with confidence under God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness
- Realize that this life is not about us – As we travel the way of the cross, life is no longer about our dreams, our passions or even our earthly fulfilment / success. Yes, blessings will come to our life through God’s grace and mercy, but so too will suffering. The more we live our life for God’s glory, the more life we find. No matter our circumstances, we find peace, joy, contentment and satisfaction.
- Give up the cares of life / worry – We often approach life as something to be fixed. We focus on personal growth and development trying to keep the struggles of life at bay. Personal growth is important but it can easily become an idol. It becomes a weak cover up for our fears and worries. We must grow in faith and trust God with our storms. Yes we pray for deliverance and relief, but we have to trust God with the outcome. We stand on his promise to never leave us nor forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
- Give up control – This was the primary outcome of the sin of Adam and Eve, Satan promised they would be like God. In our tendency to be like God, we seek to take control. We strive to control the outcomes of our circumstances. Again, we use personal growth, goals, habits etc. to direct our own path. These things are important but in the end come up short. We must grow in faith and let God lead and guide us. Our vision for our future should be to live out his will for our life.
We can rest in the promise of eternal life with God but for now the great enemy of creation, Satan, does all he can to keep us from living each day for God’s glory. We still struggle against sin, sickness and at times persecution. We overcome this world as we daily walk the way of the cross.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. – Romans 12:1 (CSB)
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. – Romans 8:18 (CSB)
As we live our life to serve others, we become a light to lead them out of darkness into the light of salvation found only in Jesus.
Scriptures for Further Study
- Luke 20:17-18
- John 16:33
- Acts 9:10-16
- Romans 8:18
- 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
- 2 Corinthians 6:3-10
- 2 Corinthians 11:22-29
- Philippians 3:7-11
Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash
Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible Copyright 2020 by Holman Bible Publishers, Used by permission, Christian Standard Bible and CSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers
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