Deeper Life #58

And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

—Luke 14:27

WHAT IS THE CHRISTIAN’S CROSS? It is not the cross Christ carried. We cannot carry that; on that cross God took away the sin of the world. Nor does the Christian’s cross consist of the trials one has to bear if one is a Christian. It is distinctly and emphatically the result of being one of the Lord’s disciples.

The cross is my sign that I am crucified with Christ, dead to the world. If I am dead, how then can I live as before?

How much provision does one make for a corpse in the house? None. One must bury it. When Christ delivers you from sin, you are able to reckon the death of the “man of sin”; you make no provision for him.

Have you your cross, my friend? The cross is marked from the place of death, not to it. Conviction for sin is not the cross by which Jesus marks His disciples. The sign of the cross is that you are crucified with Christ; you are not your own. Jesus is first!

Do you desire this life in Christ?

Prayer Thought: Help me, God, to bear acceptably my cross for You in the days and months before me this year.

SUGGESTED READING: Luke 14:25–33