Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. Matthew 16:24-25
“Taking up one’s cross, my dear, means simply that you are to go the road which you see to be the straight one; carrying whatever you find is given you to carry, as well and stoutly as you can; without making faces, or calling people to come and look at you. Above all, you are neither to load, nor unload yourself, nor cut your cross to your own liking.”
Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 168.
The GTP board has joined me in commissioning the regional facilitators and today, following God’s leading, I am challenging them to consider prayerfully the faithful activities they will engage in this launch year.
In a way it is bearing a cross because we have discerned that to be people of confession, we must not only confess our sins, but following the example of the cupbearer, Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:5-11), we bear the sins of our people with our own.
What’s your cross to bear? Will you carry whatever you find stoutly, that is, with courage and determination? This relates to generosity as the giving of ourselves in complete surrender to God is often unthinkably hard.
Father in heaven, help each of us carry our cross as stoutly so that our faithfulness contributes to fruitfulness around us and so that our lives bring You glory. Hear our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.