We don’t skip leg day; Carry your Cross
Vincent Price
Four words: “Take up your cross!” These weren’t words that Jesus said softly. He was blunt in delivering them. He understood not only the weight of the words, but also the burden and sacrifice that one would have to make to heed them. And just like it did for Jesus, we must first start with obedience.
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
Time for some honesty — we love the idea of following Jesus. We love the way it sounds, and we certainly love to let people know that we ‘follow’ Him, but do we truly understand what it means? More importantly, do we understand what it takes? “Take up your cross.” As the Son of God, He obeyed. As his followers, so too shall we obey Him. Are we able to do it, though?
When things aren’t going well, and we’re in the thick of the worst time of our lives, can we dig deep? Are we able to cast aside what we hold dear and still pursue Jesus even when the call takes us away from the places we want to be and the things we want the most? These are the tough questions we need to be asking ourselves. Can we drop everything and take up our cross?
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)
To be perfectly clear here, taking up your cross is not about surrendering to suffering — it’s about remaining steadfast and obedient in spite of it. “Everyone has a plan until they get hit.” It’s about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s going against the grain. It’s living in truth, even when the world has a front row seat to your suffering. It’s doing right even when you have nothing left. It’s trusting God when your prayers feel unanswered. It’s loving Him more than you love yourself. It’s about obedience.
Persecution, ridicule, hatred, emotional humiliation, pain, suffering, spiritual agony, and intense resolve. These are all things that Jesus felt, but He carried His cross. As His followers, we must be willing to take on no less than what He did. Jesus’ cross held the weight of the world, but He saw it through. In that moment, He also taught us how to do it. So, what weight do our crosses hold? Will we too see things through? The only way to know is to dig deep and carry OUR crosses. Jesus didn’t just teach this truth — He modeled it. Isaiah 53:3 tells us: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”
Jesus carried the weight of obedience long before He carried the wood on His back. He bore misunderstanding, betrayal, false accusation, and abandonment — and still chose faithfulness. When we face hardship, resistance, or sacrifice because of our faith, it doesn’t mean we’re off course. Often, it means we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be.
What the cross really is (and isn’t);
Some of us have been taught that our ‘cross’ is just an inconvenience — a bad job, a difficult relationship, or an uncomfortable season. But the cross Jesus spoke of was far deeper. The cross represents:
Dying to self
Surrendering control
Choosing obedience over comfort
Trusting God when outcomes are uncertain
“Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:24). This is the great paradox of the Kingdom: We don’t lose ourselves when we carry the cross — we finally find ourselves. Carrying your cross means saying:
“God, Your will over my preferences.”
“Truth over approval.”
“Faithfulness over fear.”
And let’s be clear — Jesus never carried His cross alone. Simon of Cyrene was pulled from the crowd to help bear the weight (Luke 23:26). God never intended us to walk this road in isolation. Brotherhood matters. Accountability matters. Faithfulness during times of adversity matters. Community matters. Relying on your brothers matters.
The Power of Daily Surrender
In closing, I don’t want to clear up what Jesus actually said. Yes, He did say “Take up your cross”, but there’s a word omitted from that. What Jesus actually said was, “Take up your cross daily,” and that’s what this journey of being a Christian is actually about. It’s walking His path daily. It’s living in truth daily. It’s being faithful daily. It’s being kind daily. It’s being obedient daily. It’s surrendering daily. Not once; not when it’s convenient; not only when we feel strong, but daily.
Daily surrender is the silent, closed-door discipline of saying ‘yes’ to God when there’s no pageantry and no one is watching. It’s choosing integrity when social pressure and compromise would be easier. It’s loving when it costs you something. It’s forgiving when pride begs you to hold the line. It’s a complete, unequivocal surrender.
Hebrews 12:2 reminds us why this matters: “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus endured because He knew where obedience leads. The cross was never the end of the story — resurrection is. So, let’s carry our crosses as Jesus did. Let’s make our sacrifice as Jesus did. And let’s be resurrected like Jesus.
