What it Means to "Take Up His Cross..." Matt 16:24

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

Matthew 16:24

"And now for a man to take up his cross, is to deny himself all ungodliness, and every worldly lust, and keep my commandments."

JST Matt 16:26

(see footnoot Matt 16:24 - KJV)

"Behold, I give unto you a commandment, that ye suffer none of these things to enter into your heart;

"For it is better than ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into hell."

3 Nephi 12:29-30

The Christian way is different: harder, and easier. Christ says “Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. I don’t want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.”

C.S. Lewis

"Run to the Cross

"But a Christian should have a different paradigm. We should run to the cross. To death. So lay down your hopes. Lay down your future. Lay down your petty annoyances. Lay down your desire to be recognized. Lay down your fussiness at your children. Lay down your perfectly clean house. Lay down your grievances about the life you are living. Lay down the imaginary life you could have had by yourself. Let it go.

"Death to yourself is not the end of the story. We, of all people, ought to know what follows death. The Christian life is resurrection life, life that cannot be contained by death, the kind of life that is only possible when you have been to the cross and back."

Rachel Jankovic

Notes:

Jesus Christ took upon Himself the burden of the sins, sorrows, and infirmities of all the world. Those of us who take upon ourselves the burden/cross of striving to obey all of God's commandments; of giving up all ungodliness, every worldly lust, our sins and all natural desires... the natural man, shall become His. - As we give up the natural man, He makes us so much more than we could ever hope or dream to be on our own... :) This is why I am a Christian... This is why I am constantly repenting... 

Corine :D