Thought for the Day 4/9/2012


The Cross
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Matthew 16:24-25 (NASB)

What would it mean to the disciples to "take up his cross"? This was before Christ's crucifixion, and the disciples had no idea he was going to die, much less be hung on a cross.

Christ tells us to deny ourselves, take up our own cross, and follow Him.
What was understood was that the cross was punishment for a criminal. So...
are we to acknowledge that we are sinners who deserve death.
We are to humble ourselves, putting aside our justifications for our sins... and truly acknowledge that we deserve to die for our sins.

How do we do this? Repent and be baptized and follow him was the message of Jesus. Through repentance and baptism we acknowledge our sin.
The beauty is we are invited to follow  Christ. We rise from baptism to new life in Christ, always carrying with us our knowledge of our sins, but now knowing that Christ can lead us to life through him. The life of this world pales in comparison to the life Christ offers.
Anonymous

Popular posts from this blog

Thought for the Day 12/18/2020

Thought for the Day 7/24/2018

Thought for the Day 7/5/2024