Jesus doesn't tell us to pick up
His cross. He has already done that to make a way for us. No, we
are to pick up ours. His cross included being rejected, ridiculed,
scourged, mocked, beaten and ultimately killed.
The cross we are to
bare
is the environment in which we live, the people we live with, and any
circumstances that God has allowed to take place in our fallen world.
Jesus embraced the
cross and so must we... if, in fact, we want supernatural peace, joy and
eternal life.
W
e
must deny ourselves. Jesus is talking about living life for self.
We must get out of ourselves. We must die to that which is self
centered, self serving and self motivated, in order to live life in the
Spirit.
To make this transition,
live life abundantly, and walk in the resurrection, we must embrace the cross
experientially. By an act of the will, we let go and die to
needing justice; die to needing acceptance; die to needing success; die to
our demands for love; in fact die to all of our rights. If we do this,
the Lord will raise us up above our fallen nature.
"Come to Me, all you who labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and
learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls."
Mathew 11:28-29
To take the Lord's Yoke means to
inwardly stay with Him in the Spirit for a consultation. Do not
consult your mind to determine how to respond to your environment. To
be yoked with another is to be tied together.
"And we will learn from Him!" We will see things from God's
perspective as he reveals truth.
"But let a man examine
himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he
who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to
himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak
and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves,
we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by
the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world."
1Corinthians
11:28-32 NKJV
We can't skip this step as some would believe. "
I got it all at salvation!" At salvation, Jesus comes to live in us and
relate to our spirit. I believe He comes in the form of an embryo with
all the attributes of God. To mature to the fullness of Christ is a
growing up process in which our fallen nature dies and is replaced by His
nature and character.
We have a choice. We can examine
ourselves objectively or God will do it for us. God's judgments,
however, are because he loves us and wants us to return to him, not to condemn
us as we believe when into ourselves. They invariably come in the form
of calamity. He doesn't cause the calamities of our lives, but he uses
them to transform us out of ourselves and into His Spirit. "We must
through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."
Acts 14:22 NKJV
