Taking the Cross
I love working out. It's something that became a regular part of my life through athletics at a young age. It's a stress reliever for me, and I enjoy pushing myself to make changes to my body. If you were to say to me that in order to get in shape and have a healthy lifestyle I must workout, I'd say great, no problem. But if you were to say, "To get in shape and have a healthy lifestyle I must give up chocolate and sugar," now we have a problem. See, as much as I love working out, I also love chocolate. To ask me to give up chocolate for health would be a tremendous sacrifice, while working out would be easy.
When Jesus invites us to follow Him as disciples, much of his commands are in direct contrast to what our hearts naturally desire.
"And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it."
Mark 8:34-35 ESV
There are three things involved in this invitation. First, Jesus invites us to deny ourselves. This is the idea of surrender. To deny oneself requires throwing up your hands and saying I am no longer in control, Jesus is. In our decision making, in our thought life, in our actions, there are really two choices. There's the way of Christ and the way of the flesh. To deny ourselves is to take the way of Christ, made clear in scripture, over the way that our flesh may desire. The second invitation Jesus gives is to take up our crosses. To a first century listener, this would have sounded absurd. A cross was an instrument of torture. It was what the Romans used to execute people who had broken their laws. It was a public, bloody death, declaring to the world, "Don't mess with Rome." So when Jesus invites us to take a cross, he's inviting us to die. Here's the thing. Sometimes denying our way for his way feels like working out (or whatever is an enjoyable ask for you.) But other times, it's a huge ask. Other times it requires giving up something that feels like mounting a cross on your back and dying a gruesome death. But nothing less than this kind of self denying surrender is offered to us in biblical Christianity.
The final thing that Jesus invites us to do is follow him. This is an invitation to relationship, to abide with him over the course of time. It's here, in deep abiding relationship with Jesus, that his grace starts to change our hearts over time. His grace starts to align our hearts with his, and so, though he expects us to choose his way when sometimes it's contrary to what we want (taking a cross), we can so with trust and joy. We can do this because of a grace based, loving relationship with the king who shed his blood to free us.
"We can do this because of a grace based, loving relationship with the king who shed his blood to free us."
As we are being disciples who make disciples, we need to keep this view of taking up our cross in view. In our own lives there will be things that Jesus will continually call us to do in his word that feels like death. But we are invited to take the cross with joy as he did. The people we disciple will often have choices to make, either to please their desires or take the cross. We must lovingly and patiently, but firmly, invite them to the same thing Jesus does, self denial in exchange for life in Him.
The End Product of Disciple Making
It's often been said that if we disciple people well we will get passionate, missional, evangelists. Read this article by Craig Etheredge on the end product of discipleship.
https://disciplefirst.com/the-end-product-of-disciple-making-2/
Grace & Peace, Scott Long