Take Up Your Cross
Mark 8:34
NLT“Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Conviction has a cost worth paying — but 'bear your cross' can also be misused to keep people in harm.
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.' This verse radically redefines the expectations of following the Messiah. The cross was an instrument of excruciating pain and public humiliation. Jesus demands that his followers be willing to let go of self-centered ambitions, endure hardship, and commit totally to his path, even unto death.
Light
Challenges believers to live lives of profound conviction, courage, and self-sacrifice. It provides a framework for finding meaning and redemptive purpose in the midst of inevitable human suffering.
Shadow
Can be misused to glorify unnecessary suffering or to trap people in abusive situations by suggesting that enduring abuse is a form of 'bearing one's cross.' It must be balanced with the pursuit of justice and well-being.
