learning to exercise the key of willingly taking up the cross – being happy cross-bearers

We have seen that one of the keys of the kingdom of the heavens which we can exercise is denying the self by exercising our spirit to build up the church as the Body of Christ. A second key is taking up our cross (Matt. 16:24) – willingly taking up the cross – and following the Lord.

Yes, you can say that the cross is a matter of suffering, but the Lord Jesus was not “forced to suffer” but rather He chose it! This morning I was so impressed that we shouldn’t be suffering criminals bearing the cross but happy cross-bearers, those knowing Christ in His sufferings through the power of resurrection (Phil. 3:10)!

The cross is God’s will

What is the cross? Is the cross a hard situation or a difficult spouse? If we read the New Testament we will see that the cross is actually God’s will – the will of God is the cross that the Lord Jesus and we ourselves need to take up and bear. Not doing our own will but His will – this is the cross. To take up the cross simply means to take up God’s will and follow the Lord. Anything that is not God’s will is not a cross. Putting our own will aside and accepting, taking God’s will is the cross.

Taking up the cross willingly

The Lord Jesus was not forced by others or by God to take up the cross – He willingly took up His cross (Matt. 26:39). It should be the same with us – we need to willingly take up the cross.

Some people say that their cross is their spouse, their family, their workmates, etc. – and these ones “make them suffer and bear the cross”.

They are like suffering criminals forced to bear the cross – but the Lord meant us to be happy cross-bearers! We are not criminals executed by others and thus bearing the cross; we are those who willingly take up the will of God and follow the Lord!

The Bible doesn’t say, “let him deny himself and be crucified”; rather, it says, “let him deny himself and take up his cross” (Matt. 16:24). This is why we need to really turn to the Lord again and again; we need to enjoy Him and spend sweet personal time with Him in secret so that we would love His will and willingly take up our cross.

No one can take up our cross and no one can make us bear the cross. We are not meant to be miserable people suffering as criminals under the cross which they bear unwillingly!

Rather, we are learning to use the key of taking up the cross willingly for the building up of the church – we are learning to be happy cross-bearers!

The church and the saints are God’s will

In a more practical way, the church and the saints are God’s will for us. God’s will for the believers is the church – He ordained only one church in every locality, and this one church is God’s allotment to us. When we see the church and we come to the church, we have a sweet taste of the Lord and a lovely honeymoon in which the church is wonderful!

But things may happen, words may be spoken, situations may come about, and as human beings we may not have that sweet feeling when we meet with the saints… Eventually, the church becomes the cross we need to bear. We should be like Christ who made the cross His choice, His first preference, so that we may have the building!

The brothers and the sisters in the church is God’s will for us. He has placed us where we are in relation to certain brothers and sisters which we meet regularly – and they are God’s will for us. We may prefer to meet with other saints or we may want to move somewhere to be with saints who are nicer – but if we come to the Lord and allow Him to shine on us, we will realize that all the brothers and the sisters in the church are God’s will for us.

There’s no room for our likes, dislikes, natural preference, or taste – there’s no special friendship or special relationship in the church life! We all are learning to use the key of taking up our own cross to build up the church!

[sharing inspired from portions in the book, The Exercise of the Kingdom for the Building of the Church, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Four Great Pillars in the Lord’s Recovery. Follow the articles on The Four Great Pillars on this blog and become a fan on Facebook for more updates. Picture source: Key in the door]

Lord, may Your will be done! Your will be done in my life! Grant us to see what the cross is. Save us from our likes and dislikes, and harmonize our will with Yours. Lord, the church is Your will. The saints in our locality are Your will. We want to learn to be happy cross-bearers, those who willingly take up the cross and follow You. Lord, gain the building up of the church!