A heavy cross

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23).

Some time ago, I saw a cartoon on the Internet. In the first panel, a number of people are hiking a cross a plain, each carrying a large cross on their backs. In the next panel, one of them stops, lays down his cross, and cries out to God "this cross is too heavy!" He then takes a saw and makes the cross shorter by a couple of feet. Now the cross is lighter; while other people are sweating under their loads, this man can walk upright with some degree of comfort. After some more hiking, however, he stops a second time. "Lord", he says, "this cross is still too heavy!" With that, he whips out his saw and trims the cross some more. Now his cross is much smaller than everyone else’s; while they struggle under their loads, he whistles and walks along with a spring in his step.

Now the cartoon shows the walkers stopped at the edge of a deep chasm. Each person lays his or her cross across the gorge like a bridge; this makes it easy to walk across. But the man with the small cross is in trouble—his won’t reach to the other side. The last panel of the cartoon shows him on his knees, head bowed in despair.

The cartoonist wants to make a point—although it is often a struggle to follow Jesus and do what He asks, there is a payoff for doing so. Paul writes, our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Corinthians 4:17). Peter says that now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith…may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Peter 1:6-7). Both men speak of the gorge that separates this life from heaven—the bottomless chasm called death. Only Jesus can get us across to the other side. He provides the means—the cross. He provides the strength to carry that cross until the time arrives when we will need it the most.

Of course, our crosses cannot begin to compare with the one that Jesus carried up to Calvary. That cross was weighted down with all of God’s anger at our sins. Only the Son of God could shoulder such a load. That cross resulted in Jesus’ death. But Jesus rose from the dead, so He can help us carry our load. Whenever following Christ weighs heavy on you, remember the Savior’s words: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28, 30).