CROSS CARRYING

Recently for a message I wanted to demonstrate what it meant to carry the cross. We have one just a little taller than me that we’ve used in programs. It’s not as large as what Jesus would have been on, but I wanted to find out what it meant to carry it, so I brought it up from the church basement one day and carried it around the auditorium for a practice session. In that session I found out several things.

Once you get a hold of the cross you can no longer control what happens.

It’s unwieldy; you bang into things (which is why I didn’t carry it around the room when I actually preached the message).

It’s hard to get a grip on.

You can’t just carry it as a “regular” thing in your pockets or on your person. It’s infinitely more weighty than a small necklace.

It requires concentration to carry.

You can’t be doing a lot of other things when you’re carrying it; it requires all your attention.

The one thing you know, though, when you carry the cross, is exactly what you are doing. There’s no haziness about bearing a cross. It gives purpose, control, direction unlike any other element in your life.

We should carry our crosses in this manner, not as a sacrifice, but as those who are following in the steps of Jesus, experiencing what He experienced and ministering as He ministers.