Matthew 16:24

Take Up the Cross and Follow Him

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ gave His disciples clear instructions on how to follow Him. It seems very simple. Many people of this world have a difficult time in understanding this passage. Many so called Christians for that matter have no idea how to implement these Words of Jesus. Man from the beginning of the creation has been toiling for food. He would labor hard to find food. This is how God wanted Adam to labor. Man also acquired certain qualities after the fall. Sin nature enables man to break God’s law and allows man to do things on his own strength. Sin does not give man the ability to lean on to God for all things. The earth and everything in it has been created by God. Man was not formed out of cosmic accident or by a big bang explosion. Man did not evolve through an ape. These are the statements made by men who had no understanding of the nature of God, the Creator. People with dark minds tend to deviate from the truth. Man was created by God period.

Man has no power unless it has been given to him by God. Out of love for His creation, God enables each one of us with a sense of understanding the true meaning of who He is. When sin nature entered the first man Adam, man began to separate from God. Sin allowed man to think that he could become greater than God. Even today man thinks the same way that they can do anything they like and feel like there is no one that’s going to stop them.

Our Lord God is a loving God. His mercy and grace are endless. His steadfast love has no boundaries. That is the reason we are still not consumed by the wrath of God. But that is not a free pass to do as we like. Christ said to all those who want to become His disciples, to deny themselves and take up their cross. To self deny means, only Jesus should become our priority. Nothing else of this world should matter. Every Christian is obligated to serve only God. Today’s world we see a compromised government, compromised societies, compromised families, compromised relationships, education has been compromised at all levels and so on. When anyone compromises with the world then they have no one to correct them or rebuke them. A true disciple of Jesus Christ, his/her first priority will be to please the Living God. He will abide in Jesus and the Lord Jesus will abide in that person. A person who abides in Jesus will learn how to live in this world of chaos. Carrying the cross is not an easy task. It is a very difficult thing to live with trials and tribulations everyday. This is where our Lord’s grace comes alive to empower us.

May we all approach the throne of glory and seek the Father’s forgiveness through His Son Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is always ever ready to forgive us and lead us into His Kingdom. Until next time. Amen.

Maranatha!