Take Up Your Cross

How many of you truly follow Jesus? In the comment section, please share with me how you came to Christ Jesus. What happened in your life when you realized that you needed Jesus and the salvation that only He can give?

For me, it happened as a teenager. I went forward in my home church in Portsmouth, Virginia. I walked the aisle down to the altar at Grove Park Baptist Church and prayed with the Reverend Clyde Finnley. I knew that I was a sinner, and I wanted Jesus in my heart and in my life. Tears were streaming down my face. I was only 13 years old.

I believed that Jesus was the Son of God, that He came into this world to save sinners, that He died for our sins, and that after three days in that cold, dark tomb, He rose again.

As time went by, however, I started living my life, and something was missing. You see, although we attended church and Sunday School, I was not really being discipled in how to live the Christian life. We had a Youth Department, and we read Scripture, but I do not remember the Word being deeply explained to us.

What I remember most from those days in the Youth Department was that we had a really good time doing youth activities—participating in a live Nativity, going to the beach, having cookouts, and spending time together. Those were good memories, but we never seemed to really dig deeply into the Word of God. Looking back, it sometimes felt like a “gloss over.” There wasn’t much meat and potatoes—mostly baby food and milk.

After all, we had walked the aisle, given our hearts to Jesus, prayed a sinner’s prayer, and were trying to live the best lives we could as young teenagers.

I am very thankful that I had parents who loved God with all their hearts and prayed for me multiple times a day.

My Mom and Dad surely took up their crosses and followed Jesus, but at that age, I did not really understand what that meant. I wanted to live for Jesus, but no one had really explained to me—and I had never really asked—what “taking up my cross” truly meant.

At 19 years of age, after graduating from high school, I went away to a Christian college in North Carolina. To be honest, I needed more structure. Even at that Christian college, as my dad used to say, I majored in girls instead of being serious about my education!

Looking back, however, there was a much deeper issue. I was not living the life of a committed follower of Christ, and I certainly was not taking up my cross and following Jesus the way I should have been following Him.

Fast forward to later in my life. While working in law enforcement, I was involved in a shooting incident, and I felt the hand of God upon me. During that incident, I heard a voice say, “MOVE!!!”

I moved from my position behind a police car, and that section of the car was shot up. I did not fully understand it then, but looking back, I believe God was watching over me.

A few years later, I had another powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit. I became deeply convicted about the way I had been living and my failure to follow Jesus in a manner that was holy and pleasing to God. During that season of my life, I also received some wonderful teaching about what Jesus really meant when He said to “take up your cross and follow Me.”

Let us look at Matthew 16:24–28:

“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘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 will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’”

In verse 24, Jesus tells us that if anyone desires to come after Him, that person must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him.

Those are powerful words.

Jesus is not describing a casual relationship with Him. He is describing discipleship. The call to truly follow Christ demands that we surrender our natural desire to live only for ourselves—our comfort, our desires, our recognition, our plans, and our own way. Jesus calls us to surrender ourselves completely to Him.

The Messiah’s road of rejection, suffering, obedience, and sacrifice blazes the trail for those who desire to follow Him.

Following Jesus is not always easy. Yes, we are sinners deserving judgment, but Jesus came into this world to save sinners. We are saved through faith in Christ Jesus, and true faith produces repentance and a changed life. Repentance means turning away from sin and turning toward God. It means that we no longer desire to live in willful rebellion against Him.

Taking up your cross means dying to self and surrendering your selfish wants and desires to Jesus.

And something beautiful begins to happen when you truly surrender to Him.

As you pray, read His Holy Word, obey Him, and walk with Him, transformation begins to take root in your life. The things you once loved begin to lose their hold on you. The sins and pleasures of this world no longer satisfy you the way they once did. Your heart begins to hunger for the things of God. You begin to desire what is holy, righteous, and pleasing to Him.

You begin to understand that following Jesus is not simply about walking an aisle, saying a prayer, or attending church.

It is about giving Him your life.

When I look back at my younger years, I wish I had understood what it truly meant to take up my cross. I wish I had denied myself and surrendered those sinful desires to Jesus much earlier in my life.

But I am so thankful that God did not give up on me.

He brought me out of that life. I turned my life back over to Him, and today I am seeking to follow His calling—to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Him.

And I have learned something along the way: I do not carry that cross alone.

Jesus is with me every step of the way. When I am weak, He gives me strength. When I stumble, He calls me back. When the road becomes difficult, He reminds me why I started walking it in the first place.

So, my dear friends, I lovingly ask you to examine your own heart today.

Are you simply believing about Jesus, or are you truly following Him?

Have you surrendered your life to Him?

Are you willing to deny yourself, turn away from sin, and follow Jesus wherever He leads?

This world has so much to offer, but Jesus asked one of the most sobering questions ever spoken:

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” – Matthew 16:26

My friend, nothing this world can give you is worth losing your soul.

Jesus is calling.

Won’t you take up your cross and follow Him?

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