Take Up Your Cross

Jesus never chased anyone. He invited, explained the cost, and let people walk away. Do you actually want to followHim?

Jesus asked a lot of questions.

Who do you say I am? Do you love me? What do you want? DO you want to get well?

But there's one question underneath all of them - the one every person who has ever heard this name eventually has to answer for themselves.

Do you want to follow Jesus?

Not - do you believe He exists. Not - do you think He was a good teacher or is a good teach. Not - were you raised in church.

Do you want to followHim?

He never chased anyone

This is the thing about Jesus that surprises people when they actually read the Gospels. He didn't chase. He didn't guilt. He didn't manipulate. He didnt water down the invitation to make it easier to say yes to.

When the rich young ruler walked away sad because the cost was too high - Jesus let him go. He watched him leave. And then turned back to his disciples.

That't not how we expect a God who loves us to behave. We expect Him to run after the person, to negotiate, to lower the price. But Jesus never did. Because love that manipulates isn't love. And an invitation without the freedom to say no isn't really an invitation.

What "take up your cross" actually meant

When Jesus said"whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themeselves and take up their cross daily and follow me" - his audience knew exactly what a cross was.

It wasn't a piece of jewelry. It wasn't a metaphor for a difficult personality trait or a chronic illness.

A cross was the instrument of public execution. The person carrying one was walking toward death - and everyone watching knew it.

Jesus was/is saying: following me costs everything. Your comfort. Your control. Your right to run your own life your own way. Your reputation, your plans, your safety.

Everything.

Not everyone does

And not everyone wants to pray that.

That's okay. Jesus knew it. He said it plainly - "the road is narrow, and few find it."He wasn' surprised when people walked away. He told us it would happen.

The question isn't whether everyone follows. The question is whetheryouwant to. Not because you're supposed to. No because you grew up in church. Not because it's the respectable thing to do in your family or community.

Because you've looked at who Jesus is - what he taught, how he lived, what he offers - and something in you says yes.I want that. Whatever it costs.

The honest invitation

If you're reading this and you're not sure - that's okay. Sit with the question. Don't perform an answer you don't actually have. But don't stay sitting with it forever. At some point the question become unavoidable.

Do you want to follow Jesus?

Not everyone does. But if you do - even a little, even uncertainly, even with a thousand questions still unanswered - that smallyesis where everything begins.