Luke 9:22,23 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
It must’ve shocked the twelve disciples to hear that their own religious leaders would kill their Master. But Jesus didn’t stop with the announcement of His death. He also told them about a cross for every disciple.
We aren’t saved from our sins because we take up a cross and follow Jesus, but because we trust the Savior who died on the cross for our sins. After we become children of God, then we become disciples.
“The cross for Jesus was that ultimate purpose of God to bring salvation to our world; the cross in your life will be a choice to turn over everything in your life to God, to let God’s ultimate purpose come to pass in your life, whatever this requires from you. For every believer, the cross is the sign and symbol for obediently carrying out the will of God.” Henry Blackaby, Experiencing the Cross, p. 145
Discipleship is a daily discipline. By the grace of God, we follow Jesus a step at a time---a day at a time. Our motive should be to glorify Christ.
