Bearing up Under the Weight

I'm sure all of you have heard the phrase "everyone has their own cross to bear", it is a rather common phrase, even if the word "cross" has been replaced by "burden", or "weight" or some such thing, it all means the same thing:

While we are on this earth we are weighted down by cares, burdens, trials, pain, suffering, sorrow, and death. Crosses are not easy to carry, unwieldy, and heavy.

But for the Christian, this phrase must take a new meaning, for both a promise and precept is given to God's Beloved, and to start, we will look at the precept, for precept must always come before promise, lest our hearts take advantage of some loophole and abuse God's grace, which we are wont to do.

This is the precept, the command given by our Savior Jesus: Luke 9:23 "And He [that is, Jesus] said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.'"

Here we have it, plain and simple. since we know that nothing is more valuable, or more worthwhile than following and pleasing our Savior, Jesus Christ, we know that whatever burden we are made to bear must be worth it, for God does no thing without reason, and He allots trial and weight to us for our good, for our growth, to change us, and transform us to be like Him.

But here we see the problem, you see, we are weak creatures, unable to bear the burdens of this life. The cross we must carry each day, whatever it may be for each different person, is often heavy, burdensome, and it is painful to carry, worthwhile, but painful.

For you know that we must also deny ourselves, our wants, our passions, our desires, even our lives to carry the cross that God gives us to bear every new dawn. The burdens we must bear are heavy enough without trying to carry our sinful, worldly desire with us, for to walk the path of life as the enemy (by the grace and blood of Jesus) of the ruler of this world (Satan for the time being), we know we will be beset, riled upon, attacked relentlessly, for the only aim of the evil one is to cause us to stumble and fall from our pursuit of Christ-likeness.

So we all have our cross to bear, pain, sorrow, poverty, sickness, temptation, and many more, so now what are we to do? For often it seems too heavy for us to carry, and we know our Heavenly Father is good, but often it is hard to see when the weight of life is upon us, when our cross seems to grow heavier by the day, with what promise of Holy Scripture may we comfort ourselves with? With what truth of our Precious Savior, and Dearest Friend can we console ourselves and keep walking, keep running after Jesus?

Simply this: 1 Peter 2:24 "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness."

You may say to yourself: "But how does this help me? I know Jesus forgave my sins, but how does that help me when I am burdened down?"

Well Christian, I fear if that is what your heart is asking, that you have forgotten who you once were. You were a sinner, the enemy of God, under His righteous wrath. You could not stand under the weight of your own sin, it was too heavy, an impossible weight, greater than anything else, and it consigned you to an eternity in hell.

If Christ took that upon Himself... If He picked up every sin, and carried His cross to death, so that in Him, all our burdens might be taken away, even the sting of death, then do you not believe that He who was strong enough to carry the weight of the sin of every man, past, present, and future, that He cannot now that you are His, carry you, and every burden that He calls you to bear for His name's sake?

O Christian, He who carried the weight of your sin will also enable you by His strength to carry any cross that you must bear, and in denying yourself in His name, so that you may carry onwards towards Him, He will provide the strength, even though it seems as though you have none left.

So strengthen your weak arms with this truth, pick up the cross you must bear daily, given strength to carry it, and any other burden, by the Almighty hand of Jesus, for when you grow to weak to continue, He will carry you home, when you will carry nothing with you but joy, and no yoke will ever burden your shoulders again.

Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me, all who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

The God of your soul knows what cross you must bear, He will strengthen you to carry it, but you must deny yourself daily, take up your cross, and willingly follow Him.

And because He also reconciled us to each other, we can rely on our brothers and sisters in the church to aid us, to bear with us the burdens we must bear in Christ's name. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 bids us to: "Admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all."
So we not only have our Glorious God to help us carry our cross, but our brothers and sisters won to us by Christ to strengthen our weak hands.

We have every strength to carry any burden given in Christ, for His glory, and for our ultimate joy.
But while we still must carry our burdens, look forward to heaven, where there will no more be anything to carry, for all of it will be laid at the feet of Christ, and life and peace will never end.

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!

Borne by the Strength of my Savior,

--The Scribe