"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Mat 16:24, Mar 8:34, Luk 9:23)

What does it mean to take up our crosses and follow him?

The cross is an implement of death - like a guillotine or a hangman's noose. The one to be executed, however, usually does not have anything to do with the noose or blade save when being killed by them. The cross therefore stands out as a method that requires the executed to participate actively in his execution by carrying it to the appointed place. This makes sense because Jesus clearly gives us a choice in whether we would follow him. [It is true that in most cases the executed does NOT choose to be executed in the first place. I here highlight the participation of the executed in crucifixion, and the conscious choice of beginning that process by taking up the cross.]

The description of voluntarily carrying our crosses also describes the attitude that we should take as we go towards our appointed places. Crosses were a symbol of shame and ridicule - it is probably impossible to carry one with any form of [physical] dignity given the punishments usually endured before crucifixion. The whole process is hardly one that exalts the crucified. It is absurd to think of one so sentenced to be sauntering down the road with his cross. There is therefore no place for pride in our walk.

Crucifixions were public events. The executions were meant to show examples of how the Romans would punish those who broke the Pax. Where then is the case for a private faith? We break the Pax today by declaring that Jesus is Lord, that there is no other name by which man may by saved, that he is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Are we similarly willing to bear the consequences of our beliefs?

We are urged to "put to death" what is earthly in us (Col 3:5). We are told that "if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." (Rom 8:13). Does this have anything to do with what Jesus was talking about when he said we ought to carry our crosses? Does carrying our cross mean making not only our stand, but also our struggles known? Is Paul showing us the way when he "boasts about things that show his weakness" (2 Cor 11:30, 12:9)?

How do we put our earthly nature to death? Do we quietly euthanise our sinful nature, tucking it under a wreath of its shameful deeds in a private, guarded cemetery? If so, where is our boast? If our lives are carefully manicured lawns of "righteousness", where is the testimony of God's power in our weakness? Have we made the cross a mere lawn ornament? Without acknowleging what we were saved from, how can we testify to Christ's power?