Matthew 10:38 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ESV
It is noteworthy that Jesus’ words recorded here reflect something other than what we normally would like to hear from Him: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword..."(Mt 10:34) But this is the kind of teaching we need to hear from God who says in essence, all our systems are faulty. Worthiness is something worth seeking.
The Jews were convinced that Judaism was what would make them worthy to God; it made sense to them that they should measure up to God by behaving properly – but it was a complex and cumbersome system of do’s and don’ts. And so in the midst of this ineffectiveness (keeping the Jewish Law) Jesus shows up and says, whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.
Knowing Jesus, is trusting Him. When the Lord says do this, or do that, He isn’t giving us a list of do’s and don’ts; He is showing us His heart and leading us in what is best for us. The choice is up to us and the cross carrying part is whether or not we trust Him. Cross-carrying is not natural to us and smacks against our desire to go it on our own. Cross-carrying goes against our fallen free-will and our natural propensity to decide what is best for us. So worthiness with Jesus is based upon our trusting Him and denying ourselves. But even self-denial is not some trump card we get to play; it’s the heart of self-denial that matters.
The heart of self denial is my willingly giving over the rulership of my life to Jesus and following Him with my cross on my shoulder. It is keeping my focus fixed upon Him and trusting Him to call all the shots. Cross-carrying is healthy and desirable if I want to make progress in my relationship with God…
Father in Heaven,
Yours is the Kingdom and mine is to live in it and keep it – I can only do so by trusting You completely with my cross laying across my soul. Help me God – I pray in Your Name, amen.
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