Devotion 8.29.26

Matthew 16

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

"24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

The message of the cross is ultimately eternal life in Christ through faith in Christ.

I watched in awe as the charge nurse over our granddaughter's delivery monitored every aspect of her life in the womb. The comfort of being in that womb is apparent, not because they fight delivery, but to how hard it is outside the womb, no longer tethered off to mom for life support and functions in a warm environment. The harshness of the birth process, from a distance, is like your first marathon in life, only if, as you near completion, you have to go through a small tunnel that squeezes you and you have to fight to get through it.

Christ came into this world leaving the comfort of all he had at the right hand of God to deliver salvation as God's right hand in this world. He, too, had to experience the pains of childbirth as an infant, suddenly out of the womb and thrust into bright light with none of the serenity he had in the Father's presence.

Joesph in Genesis experiences much the same as he leaves the surroundings of his father's dwellings only to be tossed into a pit of his brothers' treachery and then finds himself sold into slavery in a foreign land. God was with him every step of the way, though, and made Joseph his chosen instrument to deliver a nation and the people within it through an incredibly hard story.

Today, Christ is challenging us through his Word to leave our armchairs and confines of our comfort to pick up our crosses and follow him. Joseph certainly got smacked against the head by life and Jesus took on an assignment no man could take. What cross has Christ given to you to bear? What opportunities has he put in your path to bear witness to him? 

As I read this passage through legalistic lenses, I realize how epically I have failed as a "man of God" to take on the hard task of taking up my cross and following him. I have enjoyed this life on earth. Now that I have a granddaughter, I would like to last a little longer to see her blossom and become. This world has much to offer, and to alienate many by taking up the cross of Christ means to deny myself some of this earthly pleasure.

Yet there is a release when I hear people speak God's truth to me. In love, let us learn to speak the truth of Christ to witness of the liberation given to us when we speak his truth. As Paul notes in Romans 5:

"1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith[b] into this grace in which we stand, and we[c] rejoice[d] in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

Pray we run the race of endurance given to us by taking up Christ's cross and that Christ forgive us when we deny him. In Christ's name, Amen

Note; The idea of being moved from a position of comfort, like a baby is when born into this world, is part of the book on Joseph used as a resource for our upcoming retreat Oct 2 - 4.

Lotz, Anne and Wright, Rachel-Ruth Lotz. "God Won't Leave You There." Thomas Nelson Publishing, Nashville, TN 2026

Hope Men's Ministry is a ministry in service to Hope Lutheran Church and School. Our purpose is to grow, unite, and share God's Word to all men through meaningful activities. These activities center on fellowship, service, conversation, prayer, study and devotion as we seek to become men of God as He created us to be.