THINK TOGETHER.
Do you know what a cross was?
READ TOGETHER.
Luke 14:27. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
In Jesus’ day a large part of the world was ruled by a group of people called the Romans. The Roman Empire had very strict laws and very strict punishments. Punishments that were meant to scare people so that they would obey all the laws. The scariest punishment of all was the cross.
You’ve probably seen pictures of crosses. Is there a cross in your church? Do you know anyone with jewelry shaped like a cross? Some people get a cross tattoo, or they wear t-shirts with the cross on it. Because Jesus died on a cross, we tend to see the cross as a good thing. Something positive to wear or hang on the wall.
But in Jesus’ day the cross was only a terrible thing. The worst of the worst criminals were killed on crosses. In fact, if you were punished on a cross you weren’t even considered human anymore. Your name was erased from history. Even your family would forget about you.
Everything about the cross was extremely painful too. When you were put on a cross to die it didn’t happen quickly. It was slow and agonizing. And if you were whipped and beaten up like Jesus was before being put on the cross, it was even worse.
Then there’s the public humiliation. Back then, people were crucified where everyone could see them. The Bible says that when Jesus was crucified, people laughed at him, mocked him, hit him, and spit on him.
If the cross is so terrible, then why would Jesus ask us to bear our own cross? And what does he mean when he says this to us?
We talked about this back on Day 37. Jesus tells us at least twice in the gospels to carry our cross. Like we said earlier, this does NOT mean that we try to hurt ourselves, or do something dangerous. What it means is that we live our lives for others like Jesus did, even if doing that hurts us or humiliates us.
On the cross Jesus did what only he could do – he died for our sins. You can’t die for anyone’s sins, and neither can I. We can’t die for the sins of others, but we can live for others. We can put others first. We can do really hard things to love and help others. We can let ourselves be made fun of for the good of others. We can stop being selfish and wanting our own way, and instead we can do what is best for others.
Why would we do that? Because it shows others the love of Jesus.
How can we do that? By remembering that Jesus loves us no matter what, so living for others instead of ourselves can only make us rely on his love even more. And that’s what we need to do the most.
Because of Jesus our sins are gone and God’s love lives in us.
With Jesus we can bear our cross by living for others rather than self.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Locate any crosses that you have in your home. What does that cross mean to you? Talk about what the cross meant back in Jesus’ time. What made it change its meaning?
PRAY TOGETHER
Father, the idea of carrying a cross is scary, but I know that living for others is what is best for me. Keep reminding me that your cross set me free from having to be selfish. Amen.
TLICfamily 