Spiritual Crosses

Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mt. 16:24 NKV)

This is a difficult saying. We might want to follow Jesus, but we can’t carry a cross to Calvary the way He did.

The cross in this passage isn’t a literal cross. It refers to what happens when our will confronts or crosses God’s will. If we desire something contrary to God’s plan, we must set aside the desire. When we give it up, it becomes a spiritual cross.

Jesus carried a spiritual cross as well as the literal wood cross when He went to Calvary because He set aside His own desires. In Gethsemane, a place of intense spiritual battle and victory, He prayed, “My father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Mt. 26:39b) Before His death, He said, “For I have not come down from heaven to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” (Jn. 6:38)

We’ll not carry a literal cross—and we can’t even carry a spiritual cross on our own. We need the Holy Spirit. Then we are able to obey the difficult command, follow me.

Originally published January 25, 1985.