Who took off with Jesus? That question was posed in a newspaper article in 2003. The question hung in the air of the Church of the Holy Cross in Midtown Manhattan when caretakers noticed that a two-hundred-pound statue of Jesus had been stolen.

The caretakers were not usually surprised when burglaries took place at the church, because they had often been burglarized. Their location made them an easy target. This burglary was different. The thieves unbolted the two-hundred-pound statue that was attached to a cross. They took great pains to unbolt the precious artwork. They wanted Christ, but they did not want the cross.

Many in the Body of Christ seem to be at a point of wanting Jesus but not the cross. Jesus without the cross is like a heart without a beat. Without the cross, Jesus is just another person in a long line of great teachers. Without the cross, we just take the parts of Jesus we want and leave the rest.

Jesus was talking with His disciples, and He said to them, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” – Luke 9:23.  Jesus was not saying this to strangers. He said these words to His disciples, men who wanted to follow Him.

I have a feeling the disciples were a little surprised at what Jesus said. After all, they had left family, home, and occupations to follow Jesus. Now, they were finding out that following Jesus meant giving up everything. What a shock that must have been! They were well aware of what carrying a cross meant. When Jesus told his followers, they must take up their cross to follow him, it did not sound like a pleasant proposition. It does not sound like something anyone would willingly want to do.

Through the years, I have heard people say my cross to bear is cancer, my cross to bear is divorce, or a host of other things. That is not at all what Jesus was saying. He was saying, “If you are going to follow me you are going to have to deny yourself and take up your cross.”  Denying ourselves and self-denial are not the same thing. I give up sweets when I am in self-denial. When I deny myself, I surrender my will to Christ and determine to live according to His plans and His will.

Jesus had a deeper meaning when he spoke these words to His followers. He wanted them to “put to death” their own plans and desires and turn their lives over to Him, doing His will. It would require denying themselves and livng a life of obedience. And Jesus said you will have to do it daily. 

If we deny ourselves and take up our cross, it will not set well in today’s culture.  They are okay with the loving, cuddly parts of Jesus, but not so much with the cross part. To take up our cross is to treasure Jesus more than we treasure fitting into a world that wants Jesus without the cross. There is no Christianity without a cross.