Say, ‘Yes’ to the Cross
The cross has been widely touted as a talisman rather than a grim reminder of what the Lord Himself carried on His gory climb to Golgotha. May be a golden cross is hanging in your chain—a cute little symbol of style and status rather than the reminiscence of cross-bearing.
Nobody wants to carry a cross. David cried, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest” (Psa 55:6,7). He felt, to stay in a desert would be better. Job lamented that he wished he had been miscarried in his mother’s womb (10:18,19).
Paul’s idea of death was gain (Phil 1:21). Simon had to be compelled to carry the cross (Mt 27:32). But Jesus did not have a jot of self-pity. He told the women not to weep for Him. Then why do we slip into self-pity and stagnate? Why are we allergic to the cross? Why can’t we carry the cross faithfully, patiently, joyfully, silently?
On close observation, we will find, the suggestion to circumvent the cross comes to us from three angles—
Peter was a close friend of Jesus. He wanted Christ but not the cross. When revelation came to him that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Jesus patted him on the shoulder. But what followed immediately was a downright shameful experience for Peter. Jesus made it clear to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious gurus, be killed and then on the third day be raised up alive. Peter’s innate aggressiveness prompted him to remonstrate, “Never, Lord. This shall never happen to you.” Peter got a tongue-lashing from Jesus: “Get behind Me satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then he taught His disciples, “If anyone should come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for Me will find it” (Mt 16:16-25).
Already Jesus had infused the same principle in Matthew 10:38,39. “Anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life What are you chasing in life? If it is God, then you have to carry your cross and follow Him. for My sake will find it.” But the message of the cross had gone over Peter’s head. Later on Peter himself was put through a baptism of fire and history says he died an ignominious death on the cross.
Why did Peter have difficulty integrating Jesus and the cross? On close study one will understand that he was an Old Testament Christian. Even many years later he had difficulty understanding the teachings on circumcision by Paul. God showered promises for the Jews that He would remove sickness from them, that their flour and oil would not decrease, they would be lenders, never debtors, heads not tails etc, etc.
They could not shift gears. Suddenly the Son of the same God spoke about the cross, suffering and death. That meant they would be less than others, poorer, weaker, mocked. How could that be?
Even today most of us are Old Testament Christians. We want flashy promises of physical and material wealth all the time from prophets, calendars, TV and every other source of hope—and that’s what we pray for. These are things accepted as norms in today’s society but nauseating to the true Christian conscience. These days ours is not a what-can-I-giveto- God religion. Satan knows he has no chance till he tempts us down from this blessed religion to the what-can-I-get-from-God religion.
But there is a total shift of emphasis from the Old Testament to the New Testament. In the New Testament our promises are by and large spiritual blessings. Paul writes to the first generation Christians in Ephesus: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (1:3). When we read the prayers of Paul, we can see the shallowness of our prayers. Have we ever prayed like Paul that God may give us the Spirit of Wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of our understanding be enlightened to know the hope of His calling, the greatness of God’s power, that we may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God, for all patience! (Eph 1:17,18; Col 1:10,11). The very terminology sounds like jargon to our ears. See our emphasis?
Our religion is like any other religion—will God give me? How are we different?
Is my longing to give my money or property to God? Can I go to a God-forsaken place to serve? Can I leave my parents and go for God? Can I allow my son or daughter to serve God? Do I pray, “Lord, what would you have me to do? Where do you want me to go?” Do we bless God for the sufferings we go through for His name’s sake? New Testament religion is a religion of the cross.
Like Peter we want Christ without the cross, an easy religion that pampers us. Jesus emphasised the narrow gate and the difficult way to life. Very few find it. Why? Because the majority wants the easy crossless way. This difficult way is the way of the cross and death. There is no other way to be a disciple of Christ but to take the cross and follow Him. A disciple without a cross will develop into a twisted personality. When we have a “desire” to follow Him we must deny ourselves, take up His cross and follow Him (Mt 16:24). Non-Christians are the masses; Christians are the little flock and cross bearers are the small little flock!
While chiding Peter, Jesus spoke explicitly of two things, the things of God and the things of men. He said Peter’s mind was full of the things of men and not the things of God (Mt 16:23). What does this tell us? It means we should take the path of the cross behind Jesus, renouncing the comfortable crossless religion. It is saying, ‘No’ to self and following Jesus upto death.
When some Greeks, seekers of wisdom came to see Jesus, Jesus spoke of the death of a grain of wheat and about hating one’s life—His favourite theme. I am sure those fellows never made their appearance again. The ‘follow-up’ teaching for the new disciples by Paul and Barnabas to continue in their faith was, that anyone signing up for the Kingdom of God has to go through plenty of hard times (Acts 14:22). The cross took precedence over every teaching. What do we teach now? “God will bless you, God will heal you, don’t worry, fear not” are the assurances we give them rather than to prepare them to face adverse circumstances. For Jesus, the temptation to shun the cross came through His friend Peter. Paul faced a similar situation while longing for wider horizons. Agabus prophesied the persecution of Paul in Jerusalem.
Paul’s team and the local friends pleaded with him not to walk into his certain death. But Paul dug in his heels. There was not a wisp of fear in his voice. He tried to shrug off the depression that fell on him and announced, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” When his friends saw that they weren’t making even a dent in his resolve, they gave up and said: “It’s in God’s hands now” (Acts 21:8- 14). If we had been in Paul’s shoes we would have nodded in sage agreement to escape the cross. It is our own kith and kin, friends and fellowship members who may discourage us from taking the path of the cross. Let the dare-devil spirit of Paul catch us.
The temptation to reject the cross may come from our own self too. It is a solitary battle. As Jesus was just one step away from the cross, with all His strength whooshed out of Him, the temptation assaulted Him, to make Him run away from it all.
His future hung in the balance that night. His will and His Father’s will violently swung up and down on either side. Thrice He interceded with God to remove the cross from His life, if at all that was possible. Wrung out and exhausted, His agonized prayer was: “Oh My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will...” (Mt 26:39-44). His wail of pain echoed down the garden of Gethsemane to the disciples, clear enough to be heard in their drowsiness and minuted.
What if He had rejected the Cross? He would have continued to be the Son of God enjoying the bliss of heaven. Then why did He accept to go through it? He loved the Father, trusted His will, and wanted us with Him in heaven forever and ever. Jesus came out of the mist and finally the balance tipped to His Father’s side. He couldn’t let down His Father, not when He was so close to winning.
Jesus knew He had come down to earth to die. When He came into the world, He said, “Behold, I have come— To do your will, O God” (Heb 10:5-7). But the humanity within Him cried with all its might to abandon the cross.
Paul had a similar experience. Concerning the thorn in his flesh, which was the angel of satan to get him down, thrice he begged God to remove it. He did not praise God for his handicap. Thrice His prayer was not positively answered. But God said: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in your weakness” (1 Cor 12:7-9). Later, despite the thorn, Paul became a whirlwind of activity through the all-sufficient grace of God. I suppose, the angel who descended down to uphold Jesus said these same words that God’s grace was enough and that was all He needed to die on the cross.
The third angle from which we receive suggestion to reject our cross is our enemies. “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself !
If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Mt 27:40). Even the chief priests, scribes and elders mockingly said, “He saved others, Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross and we will believe Him. He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said: ‘I am the Son of God.’ Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing” (Mt 27:41-44).
Think of it. How many times we put down our head in shame when we face a barrage of criticism while carrying the cross? Our enemies holler, “He saved others, he counseled others, now he is unable to save himself. If God delivers him then we will believe that He is a child of God.” How we cry, “Why Lord this for me? Why do I have to carry this cross? Is there no other cross?” The world says that it would accept us if miraculously we are delivered from our trial. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor 1:18). I often wonder why the cross does not have a more powerful impact on the world today. But it was the same 2000 years ago.
Paul who had a wealth of experience in the cross writes to his brothers, “If I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased” (Gal 5:11). If Paul had preached circumcision he would have been embraced by one and all. But when he dismissed the idea and faithfully preached the truth friends began to ostracize him.
That was his cross and he decided to carry it to the end. If life had used him hardly, he was compensated in the end. Same was the fate of Martin Luther who refused to recant realizing that he could not turn his back on God.
Paul warns about the enemies of the cross of Christ in Philippians 3:17-19. “Brothers, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, as I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame —who set their mind on earthly things.”
These are friends of Christ, but enemies of the cross of Christ. They want Christ without the cross.Two kinds of walk are described in this passage. You can either walk as Paul and his friends carrying the cross or you can walk as the enemies of the cross of Christ. Mind you, their end is destruction. Today churches, conventions, TV, radio, books all preach prosperity and shower promises of blessing on us. But less is said about the cost of discipleship. Peddlers of spiritual wares take advantage of fortune hunting Christians and prophesy good fortune. We have reduced Christianity to a crutch to help us through life. We are taught what God can do for us—get us better jobs, make us beautiful and strong, help us build a house and buy a car!
Note: “Who set their mind on earthly things” (v19). Do you remember what Jesus told Peter? “You are mindful of the things of men” (Mt 16:23). It is in the mind. What mind should we have?
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who...taking the form of a bond servant... humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” What was His end as against the enemies of the cross? “Therefore God also highly exalted Him” (Phil 2:5-9). Hallelujah!
If you are carrying a cross, stop brooding and move into high gear. Our mind needs a total transformation to be mindful of the things of God, the path of the cross. Jesus humbled Himself not just to the point of death but to the point of the death on the cross.
Jesus suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city but we seek one to come. Therefore say, “YES” to the cross.
Follow, follow, I will follow Jesus,
Anywhere, everywhere, I will follow on;
Follow, follow, I will follow Jesus,
Everywhere He leads me I will follow on.
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, 8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
Say, ‘Yes’ to the Cross
The cross has been widely touted as a talisman rather than a grim reminder of what the Lord Himself carried on His gory climb to Golgotha. May be a golden cross is hanging in your chain—a cute little symbol of style and status rather than the reminiscence of cross-bearing.
Nobody wants to carry a cross. David cried, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest” (Psa 55:6,7). He felt, to stay in a desert would be better. Job lamented that he wished he had been miscarried in his mother’s womb (10:18,19).
Paul’s idea of death was gain (Phil 1:21). Simon had to be compelled to carry the cross (Mt 27:32). But Jesus did not have a jot of self-pity. He told the women not to weep for Him. Then why do we slip into self-pity and stagnate? Why are we allergic to the cross? Why can’t we carry the cross faithfully, patiently, joyfully, silently?
On close observation, we will find, the suggestion to circumvent the cross comes to us from three angles—
Peter was a close friend of Jesus. He wanted Christ but not the cross. When revelation came to him that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Jesus patted him on the shoulder. But what followed immediately was a downright shameful experience for Peter. Jesus made it clear to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious gurus, be killed and then on the third day be raised up alive. Peter’s innate aggressiveness prompted him to remonstrate, “Never, Lord. This shall never happen to you.” Peter got a tongue-lashing from Jesus: “Get behind Me satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then he taught His disciples, “If anyone should come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for Me will find it” (Mt 16:16-25).
Already Jesus had infused the same principle in Matthew 10:38,39. “Anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life What are you chasing in life? If it is God, then you have to carry your cross and follow Him. for My sake will find it.” But the message of the cross had gone over Peter’s head. Later on Peter himself was put through a baptism of fire and history says he died an ignominious death on the cross.
Why did Peter have difficulty integrating Jesus and the cross? On close study one will understand that he was an Old Testament Christian. Even many years later he had difficulty understanding the teachings on circumcision by Paul. God showered promises for the Jews that He would remove sickness from them, that their flour and oil would not decrease, they would be lenders, never debtors, heads not tails etc, etc.
They could not shift gears. Suddenly the Son of the same God spoke about the cross, suffering and death. That meant they would be less than others, poorer, weaker, mocked. How could that be?
Even today most of us are Old Testament Christians. We want flashy promises of physical and material wealth all the time from prophets, calendars, TV and every other source of hope—and that’s what we pray for. These are things accepted as norms in today’s society but nauseating to the true Christian conscience. These days ours is not a what-can-I-giveto- God religion. Satan knows he has no chance till he tempts us down from this blessed religion to the what-can-I-get-from-God religion.
But there is a total shift of emphasis from the Old Testament to the New Testament. In the New Testament our promises are by and large spiritual blessings. Paul writes to the first generation Christians in Ephesus: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (1:3). When we read the prayers of Paul, we can see the shallowness of our prayers. Have we ever prayed like Paul that God may give us the Spirit of Wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of our understanding be enlightened to know the hope of His calling, the greatness of God’s power, that we may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God, for all patience! (Eph 1:17,18; Col 1:10,11). The very terminology sounds like jargon to our ears. See our emphasis?
Our religion is like any other religion—will God give me? How are we different?
Is my longing to give my money or property to God? Can I go to a God-forsaken place to serve? Can I leave my parents and go for God? Can I allow my son or daughter to serve God? Do I pray, “Lord, what would you have me to do? Where do you want me to go?” Do we bless God for the sufferings we go through for His name’s sake? New Testament religion is a religion of the cross.
Like Peter we want Christ without the cross, an easy religion that pampers us. Jesus emphasised the narrow gate and the difficult way to life. Very few find it. Why? Because the majority wants the easy crossless way. This difficult way is the way of the cross and death. There is no other way to be a disciple of Christ but to take the cross and follow Him. A disciple without a cross will develop into a twisted personality. When we have a “desire” to follow Him we must deny ourselves, take up His cross and follow Him (Mt 16:24). Non-Christians are the masses; Christians are the little flock and cross bearers are the small little flock!
While chiding Peter, Jesus spoke explicitly of two things, the things of God and the things of men. He said Peter’s mind was full of the things of men and not the things of God (Mt 16:23). What does this tell us? It means we should take the path of the cross behind Jesus, renouncing the comfortable crossless religion. It is saying, ‘No’ to self and following Jesus upto death.
When some Greeks, seekers of wisdom came to see Jesus, Jesus spoke of the death of a grain of wheat and about hating one’s life—His favourite theme. I am sure those fellows never made their appearance again. The ‘follow-up’ teaching for the new disciples by Paul and Barnabas to continue in their faith was, that anyone signing up for the Kingdom of God has to go through plenty of hard times (Acts 14:22). The cross took precedence over every teaching. What do we teach now? “God will bless you, God will heal you, don’t worry, fear not” are the assurances we give them rather than to prepare them to face adverse circumstances. For Jesus, the temptation to shun the cross came through His friend Peter. Paul faced a similar situation while longing for wider horizons. Agabus prophesied the persecution of Paul in Jerusalem.
Paul’s team and the local friends pleaded with him not to walk into his certain death. But Paul dug in his heels. There was not a wisp of fear in his voice. He tried to shrug off the depression that fell on him and announced, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” When his friends saw that they weren’t making even a dent in his resolve, they gave up and said: “It’s in God’s hands now” (Acts 21:8- 14). If we had been in Paul’s shoes we would have nodded in sage agreement to escape the cross. It is our own kith and kin, friends and fellowship members who may discourage us from taking the path of the cross. Let the dare-devil spirit of Paul catch us.
The temptation to reject the cross may come from our own self too. It is a solitary battle. As Jesus was just one step away from the cross, with all His strength whooshed out of Him, the temptation assaulted Him, to make Him run away from it all.
His future hung in the balance that night. His will and His Father’s will violently swung up and down on either side. Thrice He interceded with God to remove the cross from His life, if at all that was possible. Wrung out and exhausted, His agonized prayer was: “Oh My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will...” (Mt 26:39-44). His wail of pain echoed down the garden of Gethsemane to the disciples, clear enough to be heard in their drowsiness and minuted.
What if He had rejected the Cross? He would have continued to be the Son of God enjoying the bliss of heaven. Then why did He accept to go through it? He loved the Father, trusted His will, and wanted us with Him in heaven forever and ever. Jesus came out of the mist and finally the balance tipped to His Father’s side. He couldn’t let down His Father, not when He was so close to winning.
Jesus knew He had come down to earth to die. When He came into the world, He said, “Behold, I have come— To do your will, O God” (Heb 10:5-7). But the humanity within Him cried with all its might to abandon the cross.
Paul had a similar experience. Concerning the thorn in his flesh, which was the angel of satan to get him down, thrice he begged God to remove it. He did not praise God for his handicap. Thrice His prayer was not positively answered. But God said: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in your weakness” (1 Cor 12:7-9). Later, despite the thorn, Paul became a whirlwind of activity through the all-sufficient grace of God. I suppose, the angel who descended down to uphold Jesus said these same words that God’s grace was enough and that was all He needed to die on the cross.
The third angle from which we receive suggestion to reject our cross is our enemies. “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself !
If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Mt 27:40). Even the chief priests, scribes and elders mockingly said, “He saved others, Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross and we will believe Him. He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said: ‘I am the Son of God.’ Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing” (Mt 27:41-44).
Think of it. How many times we put down our head in shame when we face a barrage of criticism while carrying the cross? Our enemies holler, “He saved others, he counseled others, now he is unable to save himself. If God delivers him then we will believe that He is a child of God.” How we cry, “Why Lord this for me? Why do I have to carry this cross? Is there no other cross?” The world says that it would accept us if miraculously we are delivered from our trial. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor 1:18). I often wonder why the cross does not have a more powerful impact on the world today. But it was the same 2000 years ago.
Paul who had a wealth of experience in the cross writes to his brothers, “If I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased” (Gal 5:11). If Paul had preached circumcision he would have been embraced by one and all. But when he dismissed the idea and faithfully preached the truth friends began to ostracize him.
That was his cross and he decided to carry it to the end. If life had used him hardly, he was compensated in the end. Same was the fate of Martin Luther who refused to recant realizing that he could not turn his back on God.
Paul warns about the enemies of the cross of Christ in Philippians 3:17-19. “Brothers, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, as I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame —who set their mind on earthly things.”
These are friends of Christ, but enemies of the cross of Christ. They want Christ without the cross.Two kinds of walk are described in this passage. You can either walk as Paul and his friends carrying the cross or you can walk as the enemies of the cross of Christ. Mind you, their end is destruction. Today churches, conventions, TV, radio, books all preach prosperity and shower promises of blessing on us. But less is said about the cost of discipleship. Peddlers of spiritual wares take advantage of fortune hunting Christians and prophesy good fortune. We have reduced Christianity to a crutch to help us through life. We are taught what God can do for us—get us better jobs, make us beautiful and strong, help us build a house and buy a car!
Note: “Who set their mind on earthly things” (v19). Do you remember what Jesus told Peter? “You are mindful of the things of men” (Mt 16:23). It is in the mind. What mind should we have?
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who...taking the form of a bond servant... humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” What was His end as against the enemies of the cross? “Therefore God also highly exalted Him” (Phil 2:5-9). Hallelujah!
If you are carrying a cross, stop brooding and move into high gear. Our mind needs a total transformation to be mindful of the things of God, the path of the cross. Jesus humbled Himself not just to the point of death but to the point of the death on the cross.
Jesus suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city but we seek one to come. Therefore say, “YES” to the cross.
Follow, follow, I will follow Jesus,
Anywhere, everywhere, I will follow on;
Follow, follow, I will follow Jesus,
Everywhere He leads me I will follow on.
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, Mob:8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
