Take Up Your Cross
By Deborah Wittmier
Jesus said, “Take up your cross daily and follow me.” It doesn’t sound much like your typical motivational speaker, does it? Neither does it sound particularly inviting. Yet people have been doing precisely that for centuries now. Amazing, isn’t it? Why did you decide to follow Jesus? As it says in the Psalms, ‘Selah’: pause and consider. Now, all these years later, have you picked up your cross, laid it down, or are you still shouldering it? If you’re anything like me, you’re not altogether sure exactly what your cross looks like, let alone whether or not you are still shouldering it!
Remember that your cross is very personal, just as Jesus’ cross was personal to Him. His cross was the reason He was born; it represented what He was sent here to accomplish. Your cross represents what you were set here to accomplish, too. Your personal purpose is your personal cross. Within your personal purpose lie your sense of fulfillment, your greatest joys and your greatest challenges. Isn’t it surprising that your greatest joys and the challenges that cause you the deepest heartaches are all tied in together? I have learned that it is in following Jesus that the joys give us a glimpse of eternity and the heartaches find their solace.
The Bible says that without a vision, the people perish. This is so very important because so very many people think of their purpose in terms of career goals, desires for family, or financial goals. There is a vast difference between a goal and a purpose. A goal is a means to an end, but it should never be mistaken for an end, in itself. Your purpose, on the other hand, resonates deep in your innermost being and looks for expression in your aptitudes, your desires and even your frustrations.
Very few people know their ultimate purpose early in life. Most of us spend our lives discovering it, and having it revealed to us in phases or parts of the whole that will eventually culminate in a realization of how the big picture fits together. As you pursue Christ likeness and intimacy with Him, the Spirit of God will set your feet on the path of your purpose. You will find that, in time, instead of pursuing your purpose the way you would go after a goal, your purpose will begin to come forth in you and through you, defining you, clarifying life. Purpose clarifies.
Over recent months, I have had the joy (over the victories) and heartache (over the challenges) of watching two very dear friends fight a fierce battle with cancer. One has just come through victorious, with a diagnosis of ‘cancer-free’ and the other is just entering into aggressive treatment on all fronts—spiritual as well as medical. But the thing that came immediately to the forefront with both was the sense of “not being finished here yet.” In other words, both have a strong sense that their ultimate purpose for having been set here is not yet accomplished. And, for both, that vision—viewpoint of purpose—stands in front of them as a beacon calling them to fight for the opportunity to obtain it.
Many of you are facing challenges, heartaches and struggles, and I pray that you, like Jesus, will be strengthened by the Holy Spirit to meet them victoriously. However, Jesus’ greatest time of strengthening came at Gethsemane, when He was facing His greatest challenge—the culmination of his purpose. I have found that it is much harder to face challenges if they seem meaningless and void of purpose, than if they are directly related to my purpose. That is why I strongly encourage you to “sift” your life in the light of personal vision. Without a vision, the people perish. Purpose is not just for those few who are called to leadership or history-making events. According to the Word of God, purpose is for every single individual.
It’s never too late to realize the difference between ‘taking up your cross’ and ‘following Jesus.’ Many Christians have thought that following Jesus is their purpose. Not so. Following Jesus is how you find your personal purpose, and then ultimately how you accomplish it—living according to the Spirit instead of according to the flesh. However, without the clarifying vision of personal purpose, life becomes a succession of struggles, seemingly with no higher purpose than ‘getting through it.’ With a sense of purpose, everything from the challenges to the joys is infused with the meaning of the mission.
My prayer for each of you is that you will commit to Jesus to take up your cross. If you will seriously do that, He will reveal to you different parts of your personal purpose at different times of your life. Ultimately, your joys will be more sustaining and you will face your challenges with a new found tenacity. Also, you will be less likely to fall into bitterness, resentment or despair. Best of all, you will discover anew that His yoke is easy and His burden is light! Be encouraged, fellow traveler.
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