take up your cross

Matthew 16

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples,

"If any of you wants to be my follower,

you must turn from your selfish ways,

take up your cross,

and follow me.

25 If you try to hang on to your life,

you will lose it.

But if you give up your life for my sake,

you will save it.

26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

Is anything worth more than your soul?

27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father

and will judge all people according to their deeds.

I googled “take up your cross”, & went to a website called “gotquestions.org, a faith-based website that tries to answer all kinds of questions.

Here's some of what they said about “take up your cross”...

“ 'Take up your cross and follow Me' means being willing to die in order to follow Jesus. This is called “dying to self.” It’s a call to absolute surrender. After each time Jesus commanded cross bearing, He said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:24-25). Although the call is tough, the reward is matchless.”

“Following Jesus is easy when life runs smoothly; our true commitment to Him is revealed during trials. Jesus assured us that trials will come to His followers (John 16:33). Discipleship demands sacrifice, and Jesus never hid that cost.”

“If you wonder if you are ready to take up your cross, consider these questions:
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing some of your closest friends?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means alienation from your family?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means the loss of your reputation?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your job?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your life?”

“In some places of the world, these consequences are reality. But notice the questions are phrased, “Are you willing?” Following Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean all these things will happen to you, but are you willing to take up your cross? If there comes a point in your life where you are faced with a choice—Jesus or the comforts of this life—which will you choose?”

“Commitment to Christ means taking up your cross daily, giving up your hopes, dreams, possessions, even your very life if need be for the cause of Christ. Only if you willingly take up your cross may you be called His disciple (Luke 14:27). The reward is worth the price. Jesus followed His call of death to self (“Take up your cross and follow Me”) with the gift of life in Christ: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25-26).”

In America, it would seem that the prevailing opinions about what life as a Christian should be don't necessarily line up with those last few paragraphs.

It seems the prevailing opinion is that Christians are successful, prosperous, empowered, & in charge.

Maybe we need to take a good hard look at the realities of a life of discipleship juxtaposed with the thoughts expressed about such a life by current pop Christian culture.