Weekly Message
HELP CARRYING YOUR CROSS!
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (Matthew 16:24)
Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His (Jesus's) cross (Matthew 27:32).
As Christians, we know that if we are to follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we have a cross to carry. A man named, George Allen, wrote the song, "Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?" Some of you have heard it before. The first verse states: Must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all the world go free? No, there's a cross for every one, and
there's a cross for me."
How many of you know, however, that the cross can get very heavy sometimes? Christians are not immune to trials and tribulations. In fact, we know that we must go through some very difficult times because of the fact that we are Christians. Sometimes we can get weary and our strength begins to fail. But when those days occur, God always provides someone to help us carry our cross.
In Matthew 16:24, Jesus tells His disciples that those who desire to follow Him must deny themselves and take up their crosses. It is clear that we will experience some of our problems for no other reason than because we are Christians. The cross represented suffering. It was heavy to carry and crucifixion on the cross was excruciating. Yet, we understand that in order to know Christ fully, we all have a cross to bear.
In Matthew 27:32, Jesus had been carrying The Cross toward Golgotha for His crucifixion. In His humanity, even Jesus became weary as He made His way to Calvary. This passage tells us that a bystander, Simon of Cyrene (in Northern Africa), was compelled to HELP JESUS CARRY THE CROSS!
In our lives, all of us will get weary from time to time and need some help from someone else. Christians should make ourselves available to one another as we face the difficulties of life. Many psychologist believe that a majority of people who feel depressed feel that they have no one with whom they are close. When we reach out to help others we are letting them know that they are not alone. Just as Jesus needed help carrying THE CROSS, each of us will need help from time to time carrying our crosses.
Let us resolve this day, that we will make every effort to give each other "HELP CARRYING THE CROSS!"
