Take Up Your Cross

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Luke 9:23

Jesus came to destroy all the works of the devil, and this is why we are called to fight against every kind of darkness, including sickness. But what does this fight entail? It does not mean we automatically pray for God to help our every need and sickness. Rather we need to direct ourselves to Christ’s death first and recognize our own guilt for the sin and suffering in the world, including the sickness in our own bodies.

Our priority should be that God comes into his own right in our lives. In other words, we must do everything we can to fight against anything that seeks to exploit the grace and mercy of God, anything that turns Christ, our Savior, into our little servant. God is not duty bound toward us. It is we who must deny ourselves and take up our cross. It is God’s glory we must serve, and we must be prepared to let everything go and become poor, so that Christ alone is exalted.

Let us leave behind any begging before God and instead seek how to do justice to his cause. Put your own needs aside and do honest works of repentance, and do so joyfully, without grumbling and lamenting. Let yourself be judged, turn your inner life around, and stop looking at yourself and your own need. Instead, sacrifice yourself for the kingdom of God. Become zealous for him, and God will not let your life be put to shame. You will find that your suffering and distress will disappear by themselves.

Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt