My Cross, Your Cross, Our Cross

“Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

Being a Christian and being a disciple of Christ can be totally different. Faithful following is a choice. We are presented with choices each day, always, and everywhere. We choose between good and bad, right and wrong, and do or do not. In the same way, each day, in each moment, and in all places, Jesus asks us with respect to the cross, “Pick up, or don’t pick up.”

In Luke 14, Jesus’s ministry has drawn increased attention. He is gaining fame for his miracles, healing, and teaching. The natural human tendency is to be interested in someone famous, something “viral.” In today’s passage, Jesus looks back and finds many people following him. Jesus has attracted a crowd.

As he looked upon the crowd, Jesus saw each person’s heart. He saw that they were concerned about their life. In the crowd, there were fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters. We tend to worry about our lives, such as what shall we eat, drink, or wear. Sometimes, we try to crack the code and follow Christ according to a different, easy route, one that is better suited to our comfort.

Sometimes we find ourselves going through the motions of being a Christian, going to church every Sunday, and keeping up appearances. At other times, we concern ourselves with other things. We seek ways of following Christ that come without picking up our cross. I tend to fail in this way, choosing against making a sacrifice and taking up my own cross.

Let’s stop pretending that following Jesus is always comfortable. Jesus does not say, “admire me” or “believe in me from a safe distance.” He calls us to die daily to ourselves. He calls us to lose our lives for his sake and for the sake of the gospel.

The call to die is an invitation to live, truly live. Carrying the cross is choosing obedience, even when it costs us reputation, security, relationships, control, and comfort. Christianity without the cross is empty. Discipleship without sacrifice is self-deception.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ. Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.”

The question is not, “Do I believe in Jesus?” Rather, the real question is: “What am I refusing to lay down?”

Jesus, I have heard you call to take up my cross and follow you. Help me to lay down what is comfortable, and to follow you in costly obedience. I trust that whatever is gained for your sake and for your kingdom will far surpass anything I leave behind. Amen.

MONDEKHUU TURMUNKH
Master of Divinity Student
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia