Take Up Your Cross (1)

Let him... take up his cross daily...
Luke 9:23 NKJV

We tend to equate our cross with things like a difficult mate, a headstrong teen, a bedridden loved one, or too much month left at the end of the money. One author writes: "We think God passes out crosses like a warden handing shovels to a chain gang. No one wants one. Each one gets one… [But] the cross means much more. It's God's tool of redemption… proof of his love. To take up the cross… is to take up Christ's burden for… people." Jesus said, "The load I give you to carry is light" (Matthew 11:30 NCV). The cross you're called to bear won't break your back, it will awaken and develop in you areas of strength which are lying dormant or being used for less worthy purposes. When you recognise this you'll stop praying for a lighter cross and ask God for a stronger back. When Paul began praying this way, God said, "My grace is sufficient for you… (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV).

When a badly burned infant dressed in funeral clothes was left to die in a field, attorney John Bentley and his wife nursed him back to health and adopted him. Today the Bentleys oversee an orphanage. Instead of walking away, they're shouldering the cross for China's children. Michael Landon, Jr. was 19 when he accepted Christ and started impacting Hollywood by making redemptive films instead of the usual rubbish. The son of an acting legend, Landon is uniquely qualified to carry the cross for the entertainment industry. But remember, the cross calls for dying to self-interest and crucifying the desires of your flesh so that the life of Christ can be seen in you.