“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:27
Being a disciple of Jesus is more than just knowing about Jesus, it’s more than knowing Him. To be a disciple of Jesus is to be His pupil; to learn from Him, to follow Him. When Jesus called the twelve apostles, He was not calling them to know about Him or to know Him but rather to follow Him.
What are some of the things we learn along the way as followers of Jesus? One thing that is evident as you follow in Jesus’ steps is that He never forgot His purpose; His Father had sent Him into the world for a specific purpose and everything in His life was toward that end. Jesus was continually pursuing the Father’s purpose while in this world.
Another thing you can glean from the life of Jesus was His awareness of the needs of others. Even though He was God, Jesus was willing to take the form of a man and live on the earth as a man. That means He had a nature like ours and that He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. It is a part of our nature to be self-centered; to take a view of the world that has self in the center of it all and to look at everything in life from that perspective. Jesus was always aware of others and their needs and He had compassion on them, even though He didn’t have to. In fact, many of the people He encountered during His earthly ministry were the “forgotten” people — those who had been cast off by civilized society.
Quite often, you find Jesus ministering to the needs of lepers or the blind or the outcasts of society, even little children. Even though He came from heaven to earth, Jesus never responded to the needs of others as if He were above ministering to them. He even washed His disciple’s feet before He left this world to teach them a lesson in serving. In other words, Jesus lived life loving others. He didn’t have to, but He chose to. Love is a choice; a decision. We learn from following Jesus the true meaning of love, what it means to put others before yourself and to walk in love rather than just talk about it.
It can all be summed up by our verse for today. If you have chosen to be a disciple of Jesus, then the Lord has something for you. A prize? You could say that. How about The Greatest Christian Ever Award? Well, maybe, but that’s not the point, so let’s not get distracted with accolades! Or maybe it means all of your prayers will be answered just the way you want them to be and just when you want them to be? Not hardly; God’s ways are not your ways and He isn’t always in such a rush to get it done instantaneously. There may be many other things He is doing in your life that you cannot see and those things may take time.
What is it then that the Lord has for you when you choose to follow Jesus? Your very own cross! That’s right, your cross. Jesus did a lot of walking during His time in this world, but the most significant steps He took were up a hill, bearing His own cross, to a place called in Hebrew, Golgotha. To follow Jesus there is something you need every day; something that will enable you to live a new life in Christ in place of your own life. Something that provides the means of putting to death all that is of your old self. Be His follower — bear your cross!
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