Picking up my cross

  In a previous post, I discussed some of my observations from N.T. Wrights book The Day the Revolution Started.  There is one thought that I didn't explore in the post because in all reality, it deserves its own post and I will try and tackle it today.  The thought is that when Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 16, that if they wanted to follow Him, they needed to deny themselves and pick up their crosses.  This is a scary thought, not matter the time period, and what does it mean for us to pick up our cross and to bear it daily.  There are several implications to this phrase that scare me and here is the first one.

   The first implication is that the phrase "to pick up ones cross" has a totally different meaning in the first century then it does today.  The Romans were really good at finding gruesome ways getting rid of infidels and criminals.  The most gruesome way was the death by cross, because people died by suffocation when they were executed this way.  This means someone was going to die a long and painful death.  What made this phrase so revolting is that in the first century, you could find crosses up and down road with people being executed this way.    The imagery would of provoked great fear in to those who would of heard Jesus say those words and it is a realization that picking up ones cross would lead to humiliation, great pain, and eventually death.  What Jesus is really saying, is that following Him is not easy, pretty and it involves us dying to ourselves on a daily basis so that He may fully reign in us.  Essentially Jesus is drawing the line in the sand.  It is either our way or His way, and there is no middle ground.  Its an all or nothing type of deal and there are consequences for what we chose.

  The second implication that I realized is that as Americans, we don't handle death well.  Whether it is not talking about/to trying to put a positive spin on it or searching for the best medical attention we can afford or find.  In a book I am reading by Caleb Wilde, The Confessions of a Funeral Director, he makes the observation that when he is picking up a body from an institution for embalming, he is usually directed to the back door for pick up of the deceased body.  The  implication is that we like to hid death and if we hide it, that means it either didn't happen, or its not real or that we do not have to deal with it right now.  People deal with death in their own way, and I find some of them rather weird, especially in the planning of the service or at the funeral service itself.  In all reality, there are only two ways we leave this planet and the first and most popular one right now is by death. 

   The other part of this implication is that when we die to ourselves, it leads to a life better than we could have planned for ourselves.  In the spring time, if we want to see new leaves, the old ones need to die and to fall off either during the previous fall or during the winter.  But there always seems to be the pesky leaf or two that still holds on, and the only way it will fall off is if there is new life being coming in behind it.  In essence, if we want new leaves, the old ones have to die and fall off first.  This is the same way in life, we all want new habits, or a different outlook on life.  The only way this will happen is if we put to death the old, so we can have not only new life, but so we can have it abundantly.  To look at it this way, to die just to die is kind of pointless and maybe even a little vain, but are we allowing death to ourselves so that can shape us into the people He wants us to be. 

   The third implication is that picking up ones cross shows ones commitment level.  When Jesus tells His disciples and us for that matter, following Him is an all or nothing commitment.  We can not pick and choose what we want to follow or make some half ass commitment in following Him.  Jesus keeps it really real, and really simple.  To quote the movie Happy Gilmore, "Do you want a piece of me Bob" and Bob Barkers response is  "I don't want a piece of you, I want the whole thing." By the way, God is the same way, He doesn't want just a piece of us, but He wants all of us.  I know in my life, when I am not fully committed, I don't give it my all, and not only do I miss out on some really cool stuff, we are cheating God and others.  When we half ass it with God, we are really saying that we are either lazy, apathetic, or we are willing to only follow God on the parts we want to or until it gets rough.  In all honesty, we demand all of God, we demand all of other people, and yet we only require minimal effort from ourselves.  This does not seem right and it isn't

   The last implication is that in order for us not only to have eternal life, but a life worth living on this side of heaven is that we need to die to ourselves.  Are we willing to live our lives comfortably, or at be the king of our castle on this side of eternity and totally miss an eternity with God.  I get it, we all want to be like Sinatra and do things our way, but how often does doing things our way actually work out.  In my experience when we do this, our lives turns into a Michael Bay move with a lot of explosions, action, but the story line is lacking at best.  We have to be honest with ourselves and realize that most if not all of our ideas and motives are questionable at best.  Its really asking what is the point of having everything I want and or desire if it leads me to missing out on eternal life.  The last I checked, what God values is not only way better, but it is also better than anything this world has to offer.  So, how often are we picking up our cross and dying to ourselves so that we can seek Gods Kingdom and Righteousness first.  The last time I checked this needs to be at leas a daily thing if not a moment by moment decision,