Take Up Your Cross: 5 Ways To Do It Every Day

What Does It Mean To Take Up Your Cross?

Taking up your cross is a call to a radical and sacrificial lifestyle for anyone who wants to follow Jesus. The concept of carrying one’s cross is rooted in the teachings of Jesus, who said in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

For the first-century Jew, carrying a cross was synonymous with taking on a symbol of disgrace and humiliation, as criminals were executed in this way. Yet, Jesus used this symbol to articulate the radical commitment that is required of His followers. To take up one’s cross means to willingly submit to the will of God, even when it is uncomfortable or involves suffering.

The call to take up your cross and follow Christ is an invitation to die to yourself and your own desires. It means surrendering your will and your plans to God and allowing Him to transform you into the person He created you to be. This is a call to forsake earthly riches, status, and comfort and prioritize the kingdom of God above all else.

Taking up your cross requires enduring hardship and persecution for the sake of Christ. It involves bearing the reproach of being a Christian and standing firm in your faith, even when it is unpopular.

We see this played out in the lives of the apostles, who were persecuted and even martyred for their faith. They understood that following Christ would likely involve suffering, yet they were willing to endure it for the sake of the Gospel.

Ultimately, taking up your cross and following Christ means embracing a life of selflessness and service. It means loving others sacrificially and seeking to meet their needs before your own. It means living a life that imitates Christ, who gave up everything for the sake of the world.

Taking up your cross is a call to surrender your life completely to God, to die to yourself and your desires, and to embrace a life of sacrifice and service. It means being willing to endure suffering and persecution for the sake of Christ and to prioritize the kingdom of God above all else. Ultimately, it is a call to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, who showed us what it means to live a life of radical obedience to God.

How Do You Take Up Your Cross?

1. Deny Yourself

To truly take up your cross and follow Jesus, the first step is to deny yourself. This means surrendering your will to God and putting His desires above your own. It can be tempting to prioritize personal comfort or indulge in worldly desires, but a true follower of Christ must resist these urges and seek to please God instead.

Denying oneself involves recognizing that our own desires and plans may not align with God’s will. It requires a willingness to let go of our own agenda and trust in God’s plan for our lives. This can be a difficult process, as it often involves sacrificing things that we hold dear, such as personal ambitions, material possessions, or even relationships that are not in line with God’s principles.

However, denying oneself is an essential part of taking up one’s cross. When we surrender our own desires and seek to please God, we become better equipped to serve Him and others. We are no longer held back by our own selfish ambitions and can instead focus on living a life that imitates Christ’s selfless love.

2. Serve Others

Taking up your cross also means embracing a life of service and sacrificial love. Christ Himself exemplified this type of love when He gave up His life for the sake of the world. To follow in His footsteps, we must also be willing to put others’ needs before our own.

Serving others requires us to actively seek out opportunities to help those around us. This could be as simple as offering a listening ear to a friend in need, volunteering at a local charity, or giving generously to those in need. It involves being willing to inconvenience ourselves and make sacrifices for the sake of others.

In addition to serving others, taking up your cross also involves living a life that imitates Christ’s example. This means living a life of humility, compassion, and forgiveness. We must be willing to put aside our own pride and prioritize the needs of others, just as Christ did when He washed His disciples’ feet.

Taking up your cross and following Jesus requires a radical commitment to denying oneself and serving others. It involves surrendering our own will to God and trusting in His plan for our lives. By living a life of sacrificial love and prioritizing the needs of others, we become better equipped to fulfill God’s calling on our lives and make a difference in the world around us.

3. Prioritize the Kingdom of God

Prioritizing the kingdom of God is an essential aspect of taking up our cross and following Jesus. It involves reaching out to those in need, sharing the Gospel with others, and actively participating in our church communities. By doing so, we not only fulfill God’s calling on our lives but also make a meaningful impact on the world around us.

Reaching out to those in need is a tangible expression of Christ’s love for the world. As followers of Jesus, we are called to serve others and meet their needs, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual. This could involve volunteering at a local charity, donating food or clothing to the needy, or simply reaching out to a friend or neighbor who is struggling.

Sharing the Gospel with others is another essential aspect of prioritizing the kingdom of God. The Gospel is the good news of salvation and redemption, and it is our responsibility as believers to share it with those around us.

This could involve evangelizing to friends, family, and acquaintances or participating in mission trips and outreach events. By sharing the Gospel, we can help bring others to Christ and contribute to the growth of the kingdom.

Participating in our church communities is another important way to prioritize the kingdom of God. Church is more than just a place to attend on Sundays; it is a community of believers who come together to worship, serve and support one another.

By actively participating in our church communities, we can grow in our faith, build meaningful relationships with others, and contribute to the good works that God has called us to.

4. Endure Hardship and Persecution

Enduring hardship and persecution is an inevitable part of taking up our cross and following Jesus. As followers of Christ, we are bound to face opposition for our beliefs, with some individuals even ridiculing and rejecting us for our unwavering commitment to Jesus.

Expecting opposition for our beliefs is the first step in enduring hardship and persecution. Jesus himself warned his disciples that they would face challenges and oppositions for their commitment to him.

In the book of John, Jesus forewarned, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (John 15:18 NIV). Therefore, we should not be surprised when we experience such opposition, but instead, continue to stand firm in our faith and commitment to Christ.

In addition, being willing to accept ridicule or rejection for our commitment to Christ is another vital aspect of enduring hardship and persecution. It takes courage and humility to face rejection, even by people we care about, but as followers of Jesus, we must be willing to embrace the cost of following Him.

The book of Matthew tells us, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24 NIV). Hence, we should be ready to face any form of hardship that comes with bearing the cross.

Finally, standing firm in our faith despite obstacles is the ultimate goal of enduring hardship and persecution. The apostle Paul, one of the great leaders in the early Christian church, endured much suffering and persecution, including imprisonment and ultimately being beheaded for the sake of the Gospel.

However, he remained unshaken in his faith, telling Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7 NIV).

Therefore, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and remain steadfast in our faith, trusting that He will give us the strength and perseverance to endure any form of hardship or persecution that may come our way.

5. Imitate Christ

Imitating Christ is an essential aspect of taking up our cross and following Him. To imitate Christ, we must study His life and seek to understand His example. Jesus’ life was a perfect reflection of God’s love and mercy toward humanity, and by studying His life, we can gain insights into how to live a life that pleases God.

Actively seeking opportunities to follow in Jesus’ footsteps is another vital aspect of imitating Him. Jesus spent His life serving others, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and preaching the Gospel to the lost.

As His followers, we are called to do the same. We can follow in Jesus’ footsteps by participating in mission trips, volunteering at local charities, and helping those in need. By doing so, we can show the love of Christ to the world and bring glory to God.

Continually striving to grow in our relationship with God and imitate His character is the ultimate goal of imitating Christ. Jesus’ life was marked by humility, forgiveness, compassion, and selflessness, and by imitating these qualities, we can become more like Him.

We can grow in our relationship with God by studying the Bible, praying, and attending church regularly. By doing so, we can deepen our understanding of God’s love and develop a closer relationship with Him.

To imitate Christ requires a deep commitment to our faith and an unwavering desire to follow His example. However, by continually striving to grow in our relationship with God, actively seeking opportunities to serve others, and studying the life of Jesus, we can become more like Him and live a life that pleases God.

As Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24 ESV). Let us, therefore, imitate Christ and follow Him with all our hearts.

Only By God’s Help

Taking up your cross and following Jesus can be a challenging and difficult journey. It requires us to be willing to endure hardship, persecution, and rejection for the sake of Christ. However, even in the midst of all this, we can find comfort in knowing that God is with us every step of the way.

Jesus promised His followers that they would face persecution and hardship, just as He did. In John 15:20, He said, “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”

This means that as followers of Christ, we should not be surprised when we face difficult times. However, we can take heart in knowing that God will help us through it all.

When we ask for God’s help, He gives us the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us and strengthen us. In Acts 1:8, Jesus promised His disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

This means that when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we have the power to carry out God’s plan for our lives and to be a witness for Christ to those around us.

Moreover, God’s help is not limited to just giving us the power of the Holy Spirit. He also promises to be with us through every trial and difficulty. In Isaiah 41:10, God says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” This means that no matter what we are going through, God is with us, and He will help us through it all.