Good evening, friends! I am SO glad it is Friday! This week has been challenging for me in several different ways. I’m so thankful the weekend is finally here!
Today, we are going to break down a fairly popular verse.
“Take up your cross” is often referred to a lot in Christianity but what does it REALLY mean? That is what we are hoping to get to the bottom of today while looking at this scripture.
Here is our scripture one more time:
……Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:34-38
Why does this verse speak to me?
Whenever I was searching for a verse to study this week, I had actually already been reading in Mark. I wasn’t feeling led to be anywhere else in my bible. I prayed a simple prayer along the lines of “Lord, if there is a certain topic or scripture I should cover this week, please guide me in the right direction.”
This scripture series is pretty new, so I’m trying my best to let God take the reins and just go where He wants me to go. I can definitely be a control freak so this has been difficult for me. Anyways, I continued reading in Mark like I was before. This verse seemed to jump off the page at me. I have heard it referenced numerous times but I had yet to actually set down and study it. There is a lot of power in the verse that I know can be incredibly useful for believers.
What does the core of this verse mean?
The heart of this verse “take up your cross,” can be interpreted to mean different things. I feel like a majority think of their cross as an invisible load, or burden, they alone have to carry. Maybe it’s the one thing they struggle with in their spiritual lives, such as trust, doubt, fear, authority, etc. This burden is often something that gets in the way of their relationship with Christ.
Whenever I was a new believer, I struggled with drawing closer to Him. Every time I prayed I just felt distant. It’s as if there was something working against me. I felt like this for a long time. Instead of continuing to go after Christ and ask Him for knowledge, I turned my back on Him. I didn’t pursue a relationship with Him again until years later. I was very much the prodigal son and I did eventually return. You can read about the details of that here.
Whenever I did invite Him back into my life, He began to reveal to me that the wall I had up was unforgiveness. I had to learn to let go of the hurtful things in my past. I also had to learn to forgive myself and others if I was going to live a Christ-like life. This was the burden I was carrying. This was the wall that kept me from God all of those years ago. I can definitely understand why believers see the cross in this verse as the invisible load that God only knows about, or something that is keeping us from God.
Let’s dig deeper: What else does this mean?
However, I also believe there is a deeper yet simpler meaning behind “take up your cross.” I believe it also means to surrender. We must sacrifice our own lives to follow Jesus. We must be ready to fully submit to His way and His will.
Simply put- You cannot have it both ways. You cannot live your old life & expect to grow in Christ. We have to be ready and willing to surrender it all. (Verse 35)
Whenever we sacrifice our old life to follow Him, we will likely lose a lot. We can lose relationships with our friends and family. Maybe those closest to us do not believe in our new Godly walk of life. Our perceived reputation often changes. Perhaps we may face discrimination at our workplaces from our coworkers. In extreme circumstances, we could even lose our life. We have seen this recently in the media as our missionaries in Afghanistan are currently faced with losing their lives as a result of spreading the Gospel. Are these things you are ready and willing to sacrifice?
Verse 36-37 goes on to say that no matter what goods you have in this world, it means absolutely nothing if you do not have Jesus in your heart. You cannot buy your way into Heaven!! The only way to get to Heaven is through the Son! (John 14:6) This world has nothing to offer us if we do not have salvation.
Verse 38 puts its all into perspective- If you are not prepared to sacrifice your life and submit to Jesus and His ways, then you will be judged accordingly before the Father. If we feel embarrassed to be believers, and do nothing to grow His kingdom, how can we expect our God to sit on the throne and invite us into His Kingdom whenever He calls us home?
How can we use this scripture?
I believe these verses in Mark can be a stern reminder of what our lives as believers should look like.
Maybe ask yourself this question: Can I let go of what I think my life should be like and pursue a life committed to Jesus?
We are not supposed to have it our way. We’re not called to worship Jesus in private and publicly go along with the crowd. I feel this verse can be used to reflect on what we are called to do as Christians. It can also remind us of the things we need to surrender in order to follow Jesus.
There are so many ways this verse can help us put our short lives on this Earth into perspective. Although this scripture has clear meaning, I also feel that the Lord can take this verse and personalize it to fit whatever it is in your life that He needs you to see, just like He did for me.
Conclusion
If there are things in your life that is separating you from living a life devoted to Christ, I encourage you to really set down and meditate on this verse. Open up your heart and allow God to reveal those burdens to you. You are not meant to carry these things alone. God is willing and ready to help you grow closer to Him, but you have to be ready to do the work!
If you find yourself lost in your walk with Christ, reflect on this verse. Maybe you are asking yourself questions like: What do I need to offer up to God? Are worldly things taking precedent over Jesus? Am I needing to surrender something to Jesus? Am I feeling shame or guilt whenever it comes to my relationship with Christ? Spending time in the Bible with this word may help you come to realizations or answer some of your own questions.
I pray your weekend is full of Jesus, family, rest, and love. God Bless You.
You can check out my first post in this Scripture of the Week Series by clicking here.
PS- If you find yourself struggling while reading the Bible, I highly recommend you check out The Jeremiah Study Bible. My sweet mamaw gifted this to me and it has been so helpful when it comes to learning, remembering, understanding scripture.