Title: Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me!
Contents
※Text: Matthew 16:24~28
Then, what specifically does it mean to “take up one's cross and follow Jesus”? Thinking about this, I try to receive grace.
First, to take up the cross and follow Jesus is to become like Jesus. When we carry the cross, it means that we live in the image of Jesus. However, the image of us Christians in the eyes of the world today is very tragic. That is, there is no distinction between those who believe in Jesus and those who do not. The reason is that they have lost the holy goal of becoming like Jesus. That is, God's purpose for us is to bring us to the fullness of the stature of the stature of Christ. For this purpose we must take up our cross and follow Jesus. As we look to Jesus every day, we must transfer the image of Jesus to ourselves. Since Jesus was crucified, we must also bear the cross.
Second, to bear the cross is to love Jesus.
In Mark 12:28-31, Jesus said to the scribe, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first commandment, and the greater commandment is You said no.
In Romans 5:7-8, Paul says, “It is not easy for someone to die for a righteous person, but some will dare to die for a good person, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. You have confirmed it.” The way God loved us was through Jesus Christ to bear the cross. In this way, Jesus' death on the cross is an expression of love and a confirmation. Likewise, when we take up our cross and follow Jesus, we love Jesus.
Third, to take up the cross is to love your neighbor.
In 1 John 4:20, John says, “If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar, and he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
Dear brothers and sisters, to take up your cross is to become like Jesus. It is to realize the love of the Lord, to take up our cross, and to love Jesus. It is also about loving your family and neighbors in any circumstance.
2006-04-19 10:27:46