…to bear His cross.
(Matthew 27:32 NASB)
The word ‘bear’ has the connotation of work. For Simon of Cyrene, it was physical work…demanding work…tiring work. A work he wanted to end and soon. He welcomed arriving at Golgotha to have the burden removed and to flea the spectacle he had been thrust into. His load increased that Friday from a work he had never done before. It was new and of a different kind.
That’s the challenge of bearing a cross to us. It’s a different kind of work foreign to our nature and something not done before for Jesus. If we do not have the right perspective of work, then we will dread cross-bearing. The Lord’s, inspired Apostle wrote, ‘And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17 NASB) Most surely, this would apply to bearing the cross would it not? Just as Jesus did all for the Glory of the Father, would we not also for the Glory of Jesus?
Bearing the cross is not a load carrying work for our backs, but a load conflicting with our will. The challenge to cross-bearing is not what it asks me to do, but what I am no longer allowed to do. Like Simon, I prefer other things to do. Bearing the cross stymies habitual sins. God tells us that our bodies belong to the Holy Spirit. As the cross is born, it tills the heart’s soil into which the Spirit produces fruit. Cross bearing not only discourages doing evil, but even things good in and of themselves are left on the dock of life so that we can bear the cross. They can present themselves as excuses for not joining in and bear the cross. We need to be mindful to not fall into this trap and confessing with repented hearts if we have.
Simon must have been a man of enough stature in order to bear the cross. The Lord had prepared his shoulders to bear the load and his back to drag the beam. So too, the Lord Jesus equips each of us to bear the cross. Because its nature is foreign and its load so imposing for the flesh, our old nature must first be crucified. Only when crucified with Christ are we then able to bear the cross. We cannot bear it for our own salvation, but we are qualified to do so through salvation. Cross bearing is a privilege we have in Jesus Christ. We are able to share in His sufferings.
Friend. When we are cross-bearing we are working alongside of Jesus. Is there a greater honor we could enroll ourselves in? Satan says, ‘Don’t do it.’ Our old self says ‘I don’t want to do it.’ Our weak spirit says, ‘I am unable to do it.’ Jesus says, “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”
Jesus, this is our prayer today. Give us faith to see ourselves carrying the cross You have for each of us. Not by our strength Lord, but only of that found in You. And Lord remind us we bear it not to Golgotha, but to Eternity’s shore..
