I read the passage about taking up the cross and following Jesus the other day. It sounds like hard work. Crosses are big things, heavy stuff, and usually not very easy to carry.So I have come up with some convenient ways of carrying a cross.
- I could wear a cross. Yeh, hey lots of people do that. I can carry my cross and it is nice and small and doesn’t take up much room and everyone can see it. It’s not so much as carrying the cross as wearing it, and some crosses make really nice jewellery too. So I can wear it where everyone can see it.
Oh hang on, I might not want everyone to see it, hey when it is that small I could
- Put it in my pocket – Now how convenient is this, pocket size, leave the chain on so I don’t loose it, after all it could be quite expensive. It is out of sight unless I want people to see it. Then I could whip it out and show people, that’s great because I can impress people how religious I am. Yeh, a pocket sized cross – I like that. But its not very big, sometimes bigger is better, not a life sized cross but you want to look at little well you know – spiritual and a big cross well it does it. But how to carry it so it is available to be shown off. I mean you have to be able to use it.
- I know a cross to go in my back pack. Big enough to stick out so people see, but a convenient way to carry it, still have my arms free, can walk around, do my things but still be seen as you know – the spiritual one. Yeh, but it does stick up a bit, it might be better if it was more portable.
- How about a Fold up cross. Yeh, put some hinges on it and off we go, fit in a smaller bag, folds up when I don’t feel like using it, put is large enough to, well be noticed when it is folded out. It is kind of like Agnes’ walking stick that folds up, cool hey. But if I have it folded away, I am not seen to be – well Christian, I need to be a witness don’t I, really I want to be noticed, I mean to be a witness is to be noticed as a Christian I need a cross that is portable, big enough to be noticed, convenient, yet not too restrictive, all these ideas are great but there must be another easier, more visible option. I know——-
- A Cross with a handle on it. How cool. Very noticeable, very portable and very trendy. There are hand bags, man bags, computer bags but nothing quite as distinctive as a Personal cross to carry.
I wonder why Jesus didn’t think of all these ideas, He really didn’t have a every good marketing strategy did he. It would have been so much easier if He just had spelt out these things, carry the cross could be so easy. Have you ever thought how convenient we try to make our relationship to Jesus. While it isn’t as simplistic as these crosses, we do like to be comfortable. When Jesus said take up your cross – He was saying Take up your cross like I did. He cross was not a status symbol – it was exactly the opposite, an image of shame, The cross was not easy – it was an image of pain, the cross was not convenient, it was an image of discomfort. So we are not called to a portable cross but a lifestyle that expects some hardship and expects some tough times. Yet, we are told to take up the cross, to be like Jesus. In other words, handle the tough bits like Jesus. Ok, this is a simplistic look at the cross, but if we are to say we follow Jesus and He says take up your cross, the least we can do is take up a real cross, not a poor substitute.
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