Take Up Your Cross

I remember the day well. I was so excited. I had longed for this day for many years. God’s plan for my life was unfolding before me and a huge door that had been held shut for more than a decade had finally opened wide. This was the day I would walk across a stage and receive a charge. I would receive the blessing and commission to carry out the mission that had been laid before me. This was the day that I would be ordained. My life’s call to full time vocational ministry was being launched. Everything this world had to offer was fleeting behind me. Yet, I had no idea what the Lord had in store for me and my family. The only thing I knew for sure was God had called me and my family for service, and we were responding whole-heartedly, regardless of the cost.

Ordination is an amazing day in a minister’s life. It is the day, in our fellowship anyway, that you not only are recognized as having a life’s call in the service of the Lord, but you are also publicly commissioned and empowered to carry out that call. Hands are laid on you and the prayers of righteous brothers and sisters in ministry are offered up on your behalf. Once again you feel the power of the Holy Spirit throughout the room as He transforms you, equips you, and guides you.

I always remember my ordination when I read about Jesus’ sending out the twelve disciples. In Matthew, chapter ten is devoted to this in its entirety. Yes, Matthew chapter ten has a great number of single verses that make great sound bites and motivational bumper stickers and signature lines, but in its entirety, it is something altogether different. Jesus is preparing the disciples to spend a bit of time out sharing the good news of the Kingdom of God, which is to say they were preaching the gospel. He was sending them out to heal the sick and to cast out evil spirits. In short, he was ordaining them for a time of ministry.

Jesus gives them some instructions and He gives them some warnings. He prepares them so they are ready for whatever comes their way. Some of His instructions seem crazy in a world view. He tells them not to take money with them, or spare provisions. He instructs them not to think about housing and itineraries. In short, He is telling them to rely fully on the provision of God. My time in vocational ministry has mirrored this passage very closely in many ways, including the provision from God. If I had laid out the plan of my family’s life in ministry, I would not have laid it out the way it has transpired to date. However, I am amazed by the way that we have been able to serve Him that would never have come to fruition if I had been the planner or equipper. If I had been the one to set our life’s itinerary and decide on the necessary provisions, we would not have been able to minister to or serve those we are able to today.

The value of the difficult, as measured with a Western World view, times we have had and continue to face is immense. It allows us to see the people that God has called us to share the good news of the Kingdom of God with in a fresh unfiltered light. It allows us to more easily reach out and meet the tangible needs of people while, at the same time, loving them and serving them in the name of Jesus Christ. We become an example of a life in Christ that is not glamorous or easy, but all the more worthwhile.

Verse 38 is a pivotal verse in this chapter. As Jesus is wrapping up His instructions and last minute advice before the disciples head out on this season of ministry he says, "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." At first glance that can sound harsh. That can sound like Jesus only cares about people who care about Him. But that is not the case at all. He cares so much He laid His life down so we all could have the opportunity to be back in relationship with God the Father, our creator. He knew that without reckless abandon in our faith and devotion to Him, we could not fully realize the magnitude of His sacrifice and accept the fullness of its value. We would still be holding onto a piece of ourselves instead of giving ourselves fully to the purposes of God and that piece would prevent us from growing and serving to our fullest potential. He knew it was still holding on to the original sin, when Adam and Eve chose to disregard God and believe Satan’s lie and attempt to elevate themselves to the level of God. Jesus knew that is born into us, and we had to give up the entire title to our lives and follow Him to be able to receive all that God intends for us.

Let me encourage you today. Let me tell you, regardless of the extravagant or humble lifestyle you live, regardless of the seemingly unending resources, or poverty you live in, we have a cross to bear. We have to die to self each and every day to follow Jesus with our whole heart. We have to bury the old man, the dead old self, and not allow him to return to our lives. A life in Christ is not always easy and full of prosperity. It is full of joy and peace and a sense of worth that cannot be mimicked by the world.

Take up your cross, and follow Him, and may the God of the Universe bless you as you do.