Title: The true cross that believers must bear
“And he who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me; whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:37,38).
Many believers tend to understand Jesus' Golgotha cross too sentimentally. In a word, it means that you have suffered so much injustice. It is that a person who was innocent of no sin was victimized by political and religious conspiracies and suffered indescribable insults, slander, and suffering, and even the betrayal of his disciples. It is also true that he, who is God himself, is evil to human beings.
That is why believers who must follow His path try to understand the cross they must bear in that context. Assume that you suffer unfairly, that is, the best example is when your daughter-in-law is persecuted by your mother-in-law for believing in Jesus. Also, since we have to carry the cross every day, the longer we suffer persecution or tribulation, the more we follow Jesus, and even then, I think that the reward in heaven will increase proportionally. There is no such thing as such a big mistake.
First, let's examine whether Jesus' death was an unfair death. When a third person views the crucifixion purely objectively, there is no such thing as an unfair death in human history. However, the issue of being unfair is a matter related to the subjectivity of the person who suffered the incident. I do not have any feelings of resentment at all, but a third person cannot insist on saying, “You are not unfair, you are really not, you are not unfair at all, are you not an idiot?” Rather, someone who says that is an idiot.
So, did you really consider Jesus' death on the cross unfair? Isn't it? I thought it was painful, but I didn't think it was unfair at all. He came to be crucified from the beginning, so when the time came, he boldly and willingly endured that death.
Not only that. Through Jesus' death, there was also the overwhelming expectation and emotion of God's work of salvation that will now be accomplished. “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son, so that your son may glorify you; for you have given your Son authority over all nations to give eternal life to all whom you have given him” (John 17:1,2). This is the prayer he prayed in front of and for the disciples the night before he died on the cross. Even when his death was imminent, he honored the cross and never once complained of injustice throughout his work.
If the believer's heart of injustice over the tribulation or persecution he is experiencing is ahead of him, it already means that it is not the cross. Of course, the circumstances in which they were subjected to such persecution were injustice. In other words, from a third person's point of view, it is certainly unfair to receive unspeakable humiliation just for attending church. However, if even the person who is being persecuted thinks such a thing, it is certainly true that it is unfair at that time, but it is not the cross.
Of course, believers too are weak and lacking, and their sinful nature still remains, which can sometimes lead to resentment and even anger and curses. However, it is only a temporary, passing natural emotional reaction, and if you realize that what you are experiencing is unfair, you are far from the believer's cross that the Lord is saying to bear. Rather, they stand on the same line of sin as the persecutor, that is, they hate each other.
What was the most fundamental reason why Jesus' crucifixion was the most painful in the world, but it was not at all unfair to him? It was because he had a will and plan to love and forgive all mankind, save their souls, and then reconcile with God. Because he had only this purpose, even on the cross he could ask, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Can such a prayer come out of the mouth of a person who thought he would die unfairly? Can't it ever be? If so, Jesus is the greatest hypocrite in human history. There is absolutely no reason to call a Pharisee a hypocrite.
Are you currently experiencing unjust tribulation or persecution? Then it is by no means a cross. It is a cross that believers must not bear. Literally, it's a pitiful pain. It's not something you have to carry, it's just a pain you need to get rid of right now. You need to cry out to God to solve it quickly. All complaints and dissatisfaction towards people and the world. Even carrying anger and curses, he said, “God, this is so unfair. Hurry up and identify yourself.” If it's really unfair, God will surely repay you.
Because private education is so expensive in Korea, quite a few housewives have jumped on the sidelines. Unbelievers even sell themselves as karaoke helpers. Believers can't afford to do that, so they earn money for their children's tutoring while living as a housekeeper. Even in this case, just being a householder cannot be the cross that a mother bears. It's just a sacrifice everyone makes as a parent.
Rather, it is the cross that believers' parents must bear to do the work of transforming their children into true children of God first. And that is the way to truly care for your children. It doesn't mean that you should not simply have tutors and force them to take you to church on Sundays. It means that if a mother even serves as a child caretaker only for extracurricular studies, it will eventually instill in her children the perception that only a good university and a good job are the values and goals of life.
When there is absolutely no cost of living or when you have to give tutoring because your skills in a particular subject are so poor, you will have no choice but to do it. Nevertheless, parents must show their children that they are not people who live with the goal of worldly values and financial abundance. You must allow your children to see and experience how much peace and comfort a life of serving Jesus as the Lord is. That is why children must become those who put their true life goals and values only in the Lord. To the believer, whether or not to do tutoring or to take a side job for that purpose is actually a second issue, and even more irrelevant to the cross.
The cross the believer must bear is the cross of the Lord. It is to take on anything for the sole purpose of reconciling those who are in sin to God, and to bear it with thanksgiving and joy. Just because it is painful, sacrifices, and injustice is not a cross.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, because God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their sins to them. and has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).
The believer must put his all upon the foundation of a clear sense of vocation that he has first been given the office of reconciliation. In any case, the true will and love of reconciliation with God must be conveyed to the other person. Instead of turning someone into a follower with your own moral and religious skills and zeal, you must rely solely on the Holy Spirit's total intervention and guidance to transform that person's soul into a new and clean one with the blood of the Lord.
If you have an unfair cross right now, the first thing to do is to look back on yourself in the cross of the Lord. On the other hand, if there is a cross to reconcile with the Lord, be willing to bear it. Embrace that soul with tears and pray with a longing heart that God's power to save will come upon him as well.
7/29/2006