Carry Your Cross

One man complained that his life is too hard for him. He came to God, told him about his troubles, and asked, "Can I choose another cross for myself?" God looked at him smiling, took him to the store of crosses and said,
"Choose." The man came into the store, looked around, and was surprised. There was such a great variety of crosses – little, big, medium, heavy and light. The mans spent a long time looking for the littlest and lightest cross and finally found it, then came to God and asked:
"May I take this one?" The Lord replied, "Yes, you may- it was yours already."

Bearing our own cross is not an easy task, but it's never too heavy or too large to carry. Jesus said in Luke 9:23-26, "Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels."

The first thing you must do is to deny yourself. Jesus did not mean that you go dirty or unkempt, but that your desires and thoughts are to follow Jesus wherever He leads you. Your plans become secondary to His.

The second thing is to take up your cross daily. We are to pray for others and help others were practical and possible, but our main obligation is to carry our own cross. You can't help somebody carry theirs unless you know how to carry yours. This has to be an every day experience, not once or twice a week.

The third thing is to follow Him. The Psalmist David, said in Psalm 23, "Ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil..." Following Jesus is a lifestyle. You either do it voluntarily with your whole heart because you love Him or you don't. The choice is yours entirely. You will be willing to give up your dreams and ambitions to go where He leads you because He has your best interests at heart. It may lead through a valley or it may be a climb to the top of the mountain. Just don't be afraid to follow where He leads.

Every person's cross must be borne by that individual. I can't carry yours nor can you carry mine. It's a personal thing that you decide when you surrender to Christ. It may seem to get heavier on occasion, but He is there to help you with the load. I'll guarantee you that every time you question its weight, there is someone else somewhere doing the same thing. It is a challenge for us all, but one worth accepting an achieving.