Friday, September 25, 2015

The Comfortable Cross
By Elin Henderson

“…Come, take up the cross and follow me…”
Mark 10:21b (NKJV)
           
We sing about the “wonderful cross,” the “glorious cross,” and the “cross of victory.” But do we really understand, in full, what the cross signifies? What it means for our lives when we are called to take up that “cross” and follow Him? Yes, it is wonderful. It is glorious. It does bring victory over death. But what about when Jesus carried His cross? It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t comfortable!

We see Christ bearing up under the strain of a heavy, cumbersome rough-hewn tree, but then we somehow envision our cross in a different fashion. We see something small, manageable, possibly made of balsam wood, sanded and varnished till it shines. Maybe there is even a little cushion in the crux of it for ease in carrying?!

We want to serve, and we want to follow His example in cross-bearing. But we often shy away from the suffering and struggle it entails. “I’ll go where you want me to go, Lord! Anywhere…as long as there is running water, electricity, people who love me, easy communication.…” Of course, this applies to those in overseas ministry only, right?

What about those at home? “I’ll serve where you want me to serve, Lord! Anywhere…except in the dangerous   inner city, or among those who might be resistant to the Truth, or…” And the list goes on. We pick and choose the cross we want to bear. But there is no window shopping for a comfortable cross. There is one cross, and one cross alone, that brings life!

Ministry, anywhere, brings along with it the cost of sacrifice. The cross isn’t meant to be comfortable, but we are also not meant to bear it alone! (Matthew 11:29-30) He knows the weight of the cross we are called to bear, and He will carry it along with us.  Let’s not shy away from what is hard and instead look for a comfortable cross. Rather, let us embrace the true cross of Christ: heavy, rough and uncomfortable, yet all the while wonderful,  glorious,  victorious  and life-giving.

GOING DEEPER:                                                       
1. Is there a cross that God is calling you to today? What steps do you need to take to embrace that cross?
2. What things do you need to let go of in order to do so?

FURTHER READING:

Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to fifteen-year-old Callie and twelve-year-old Elias.