“All who would be Christ’s disciples must bear the cross. Yet all who do, find to their eternal joy that it is really the cross that bears them.” — True Discipleship: The Art of Following Jesus by John Koessler
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The Cross is what gets Christianity in trouble.
Broad-minded and tolerant people, even if they do not identify with being a Christian, are perfectly happy with a Christianity of loving your neighbor and doing good deeds.
They are even okay, if it is your thing, with you wearing a cross. But the moment you start talking about bearing a cross that’s where the trouble begins.
Most people understand that success in life requires some sacrifices but dying to succeed? That’s not in the playbook.
Oh you have the occasional fitness enthusiast who actually enjoys going to the gym and stressing and pushing their body into the red zone. But even then, they are mostly doing it for themselves—to look better, feel better, and live longer–certainly not to die early!
But celebrating self-sacrifice to the point of dying for the sake of others…now that’s a rare, rare breed.
We want an easy heaven that excludes no one (except maybe Hilter and a couple of ax-murders).
We want to upgrade to first class without having to put the sky miles in.
We want to be fit, trim, and healthy and eat cake, ice cream, and cookies too.
We want it all…without a cross.
But it’s just not possible.
Christianity gets it.
Whatever it is you want to be and become—including but not limited to being a disciple of Jesus Christ—will require that you bear a cross.
The ONE THING for today:
Others may sacrifice (and even die) so that you can have freedom and choices, but if you are ever going to experience the kind of life you hope and long for, eventually you will have to step up and do your own dying.
The ONE THING 