I have been studying the book of Matthew this month and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The book of Matthew reminds me how good Jesus was and still is might I add. Jesus performed so many miracles and he cared deeply. There’s a scripture that I read that caught my eye. So I would like to share my thoughts on it and what I have learned.
The scriptures are located in Matthew 16:24-25. It says… “ Then Jesus said to his disciples, if any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will see that.”
So what did Jesus mean when he told his disciples to take up your cross and follow me? Some people think take up your cross refers to a bad situation they are going through in their life. An illness, a bad marriage, or maybe a financial situation. But that is not what Jesus meant when he said take up your cross. I can see why people would think that because Jesus suffered when he was crucified on the cross. So people assume the cross is a person suffering in their life and that is the cross they are carrying.
I have learned that the true meaning of “take up your cross” is when we decide everyday to live more Christ-like. We choose to obey God and surrender to his will daily. We choose not to sin but to do what is right everyday even when we don’t feel like it. We choose to submit to God‘s will for our lives instead of following our own wants and desires. It becomes a lifestyle because we choose to wake up everyday and be disciples of Christ. We will never be perfect on our daily walk with Christ but he knows our hearts. God knows we are human and we will mess up, we all fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 says… “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But when God sees us getting up every day trying to live a life of Christ it makes him proud.
Taking up your cross simply means the way we try to live our lives like Jesus every single day. To know how to live a life of Christ you have to read the word. The Bible will teach you how to live your life as a Christian. The Bible will teach you what to do and not do. The more you read your Bible you will learn more about Jesus and how to live more like him. And let’s not forget to pray daily as well. When you read your word daily and pray you will grow a closer relationship with God.
I’m not perfect but I try my best to live my life as a Christian everyday and I pray together we can do our best to please God on a daily basis. With that being said, we don’t know the day or hour when Jesus is coming back. So stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready. Meaning everyday choose to live a life free from sin, obey God, surrender to his will for life and do what is right every single day.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
2 Timothy 3:16
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