Carrying The Cross

Jesus turned and said to Peter,
“Get behind me, Satan!
You are a stumbling block to me;
you do not have in mind the concerns of God,
but merely human concerns.”
(Matthew 16:23)

The third temptation of Jesus was when the devil offered Him the kingdom without the cross.

The devil was saying, ‘Don’t go off and make all those sacrifices, spend nights in agony praying, and end up being tortured by soldiers and dying a horrible death. Just take it all now, from my hand!’

The church often faces the same temptation. The devil offers us power without suffering.

Jesus called Peter ‘Satan’ when he made the same suggestion.

When we mention everything about Christianity but fail to talk about suffering, we are taking away the cross from the Christian life. We are bringing a satanic suggestion.

Anyone who says we can follow Christ but not carry our cross is no better than Satan himself.

Jesus said so. He said it to Satan. He said it to Peter. And this goes to anyone else who dares to think they can be a Christian witness without talking about carrying the cross.

Let us realize that every Christian is required to carry the cross.

Oh Lord, I will no longer try to eliminate the way of the cross from my Christian living. Help me never again attempt to substitute power for suffering.