Take up your cross

It seems the biblical idea of cross-bearing has been misunderstood.  Typically we think of the crosses we must bear as the various trials, temptations and hardships we inevitably undergo in this life.  Each of us endures difficulties in which we as Christians are called to exercise patience and through which we may trust in the wise fatherly care of our God.  Many today view these hardships as “crosses” to bear.  But this misses the mark of what Jesus means when He says, “Take up your cross.”  First, unsaved people endure the same hardships.  They suffer afflictions, experience hardships, lose loved ones and eventually die.  Yet we would not say they are “bearing crosses.”  Second, the command to take up the cross indicates that the disciple is active not passive in this duty.  While most of life’s difficulties are “laid upon” us, the Christian is to “take up” his cross.  Third, the instrument itself, the cross, is an instrument of torture and death.  It suggests a hostile activity, not a patient passivity.  We are to use this instrument of death to kill something, namely, our sin.  Fourth and finally, Luke’s rendition of our Lord’s command includes the word “daily”:  Let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Lk 9:23).  Cross-bearing is something disciples must do every day through the scope of their entire lives.  While ordinary hardships are often temporary and of limited duration, cross-bearing is to be daily, every day, on all days, from now until we draw our last breath.  A man does not carry his own cross for two blocks and pass it off to another.  He bears it all the way to his death!  For these reasons, cross-bearing must not refer to the personal disappointments, physical handicaps or difficult hardships we experience with the rest of mankind.  Afflictions will be as diverse as the number of afflicted.  But the cross will be the same.  Regardless of what we suffer, we are all to take up our cross.  So what is the duty of cross-bearing that is incumbent upon every disciple of Christ?

It begins with a sincere faith in the Lord Jesus and a humble reliance upon the Holy Spirit.  Whatever cross-bearing is, one cannot perform it without trusting in Christ and being empowered by His Spirit.  It also involves at the very least the daily and diligent use of God’s appointed means for killing sin.  To deny oneself is the negative aspect of the disciple’s duty.  One must abstain from indulging his sin and starve it to death.  To bear one’s cross is the positive aspect of the disciple’s duty.  One actively crucifies his sin with God-given means of grace, especially the word, sacraments and prayer.  The word is a sword with which the disciple identifies sin, lacerates lust and cuts out selfish ambition, evil desires, sinful sloth, ungodly materialism, etc.  It is a powerful instrument for putting to death self-interest, self-esteem, self-centeredness and self-importance.  Indeed, it is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb 4:12).  The sacraments are potent means of strengthening and equipping the disciple to fight this spiritual battle.  Luther often defended himself against the devil by saying, “I am baptized!”  The same can be said with regard to one’s own flesh.  “Flesh, would you indulge your sinful lusts?  I am baptized!  I am a communicant!  You will not prevail”  Interestingly, the disciple’s initial duties of self-denial and cross-bearing are matched by the disciple’s initial privilege of baptism (Mt 28:19).  The link between these discipleship firsts is noteworthy.  Specifically, without baptism (and the Lord’s Supper) these initial duties would be far more difficult to fulfill.  Prayer is indispensable in this battle with sin.  One cannot prevail without it.  Cross-bearing requires prayer.  No wonder the early church devoted itself to this discipline (Acts 2:42).  In fact, the whole panoply of spiritual armor enumerated by Paul concludes with an exhortation to be praying at all times in the Spirit (Eph 6:18).  This is how the disciple acknowledges his utter dependence on Christ to receive help in time of need.  We need His power and grace to mortify our sins.  Prayer seeks from the Lord that which only He can supply through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  To those who seem to lack power in overcoming sin and who find themselves flailing and floundering in their struggle with lust, perhaps it needs to be said, You do not have, because you do not ask (Jas 4:2).  Jesus assures us that the heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Lk 11:13).

There is far more to it than this.  Owen’s classic treatise on the mortification of sin is a masterful treatment of this topic.  But a sincere, Spirit-filled believer’s use of the means of grace is certainly a large part of this duty.  While we share in this life’s miseries with all of Adam’s children, as Christians we must be diligent in actively crucifying those sins that threaten our spiritual fruitfulness and well-being.  As Owen wisely advises, Be killing sin, or it will be killing you!  So attend the word.  Participate in the sacraments.  Engage in prayer.  Mortify sin.  Glorify and enjoy Christ.

Brutish Prayers

What fills your prayers? For what do you spend most of your “knee-time”? In many cases the focus of our prayers fixates on earthly goods and temporal welfare. We ask God to bless our work, fill our coffers, heal our bodies, provide our food, increase our giving, enlarge our church and protect our nation. But if animals could speak, would not this absorb their devotions as well? If ease and comfort occupies first place, do not our prayers resemble the howls of hounds crying at the slightest inconvenience? He would be justified who classifies such petitions as nothing other than brutish prayers.

Jesus says Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matt 6:33). Herein lies the answer to what should fill our prayers. Our first concern, our great request, our primary petition must involve our Lord’s kingdom. The one whom God chooses and who enjoys His favor is he who places Christ’s reign and righteousness before all temporal blessings such as food, clothing and other earthly comforts. Like a deer that pants for flowing streams, his soul pants for the living God. He thirsts for God (Ps 42:1-2). He longs for the place where the sacred assembly gathers (Ps 84:2) and is most glad when he can attend the worship of God (Ps 122:1). He is most concerned about Christ’s kingdom and considers that his first priority in life. Not surprisingly his prayers are both well ordered and God-centered. He is content with any circumstance as long as he enjoys God (Ps 73:25). As Thomas Manton points out, this only is how to be freed from complaining about God’s providence and questioning His love. Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually (Ps 105:4). This is the secret to living a contented, steady, fruitful Christian life. In all things Jesus Christ is preeminent.

Shameless Persistence

We live in a society of quitters. Marriages fail, companies collapse, careers cease, and lives are lost all because people give up too easily. In a word, we as a culture lack staying power. Sadly this tendency has infiltrated the church. It is alarming how often professing Christians parroting the culture abandon their commitments, renounce their convictions, and give up the pursuit of holiness. They do so simply because they refuse to persevere in following Christ, in walking with the Spirit, and in doing good.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the arena of prayer. In "closet contests" modern Christians seem to have lost the determination to prevail like that which motivated Jacob at Peniel (Gen 32:25). Perhaps this is one reason why the contemporary church finds her task so difficult. She will overcome not by might nor by power but by God's Spirit, who is given in answer to prayer (Lk 11:13). But she is not praying! As pray-ers we must persevere that we may enjoy success in the Christian life. In fact, one must be shamelessly persistent in prayer if he is to obtain whatever he needs (Lk 11:8). That is so counter-cultural! Rather than giving up and crying foul when our desire for instant gratification is foiled, we must stick with it on our knees in asking, seeking, and knocking! In time through persistence our minds and hearts will be properly aligned and suitably poised to receive the good things God has so graciously and generously designed for us. Those desires offered to Him for things agreeable to His will shall be satisfied through our diligent and dogged pursuit of answers from heaven. Isn't this what characterized Jesus Himself, whose greatest work was the fruit of persistent prayer (Mk 14:36)? Let us walk in the same way He walked (1Jn 2:6).