To pick up one’s cross does not mean to wear a little silver trinket on your neck or to hang a big wooden one on the wall. To bear a cross means to carry the instrument of your execution to the place where you are to be killed. Make no mistake, Jesus is asking for something hard.
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
Matthew 10:34-39
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
But bear this in mind also: Jesus was referencing a part of the prophecy of Micah in which Micah was warning of the doom of a people who had turned against God. These were the attitudes of the evil people who had rejected God and were seeking their own satisfaction above everything else.
Do not trust a neighbor;
Micah 7:5-7
put no confidence in a friend.
Even with the woman who lies in your embrace
guard the words of your lips.
For a son dishonors his father,
a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.
But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me.
The future of the faithful person is not in the satisfaction that can be gained from the exploitation of others but the hope of the Lord that comes from a faith that gives us patience through trials.
Ethan Kirl
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