“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).
TEXT — Luke 14:25-35
Message
On March 14, 1984, The Washington Post reported a war of crosses in Poland. The incident occurred before the collapse of communism. The government of Poland issued an order that all crucifixes be removed from classroom walls just as they had been banned in factories, hospitals and other public institutions. This precipitated a series of protests involving thousands of students who marched with crucifixes held high for Morning Prayer to support the protest. The priest who delivered the message to the weeping congregation that morning said, “There is no Poland without a cross.”
From the passage before us, Jesus told the multitudes of the importance of cross-bearing in Christianity. In a surprising sermon, He told the multitude that cross-bearing is required as part of the conditions for following Him. Required also is the need to ‘hate’ father, mother, wife, children and brethren and their lives before they can effectively follow Him. He told his audience to count the cost before signing up as His disciples. It was a very steep requirement.
Christ was not teaching filial irresponsibility or rebellion against parental authority here. The emphasis is to set Him ahead of everything while we take up the cross and follow Him. The Jews knew what the cross represented. It was the obnoxious means of capital punishment on condemned persons. They knew that bearing the cross meant death. And in the case of Christian disciples, dying to self and the world.
There is no Christianity without the cross. The cross represents sacrifice, pain, persecution, shame and death. Take up your cross daily and follow Him. This is the essence of true Christianity.
Thought for the day
The cross is not for decoration but a symbol of crucifixion.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
