It was never supposed to be easy...
It Was Never Supposed to Feel Easy
When Jesus said, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9:23, He hadn’t yet gone to the cross.
The disciples didn’t know what was coming, but they knew what a cross meant. It wasn’t symbolic to them. It wasn’t poetic. It was Rome’s method of slow, public, excruciating death. So when Jesus said these words, they wouldn’t have heard a spiritual metaphor. They would have heard a call to lay down their lives. To die.
And not just in some heroic blaze of glory… but to die to how they thought things should go.
That’s where it hits us hardest, isn’t it? We feel wronged. Offended. Betrayed. Someone takes credit for something we did. An old coworker manipulates their way forward while we’re left behind. A friend twists the story and we lose the relationship… or the trust… or the job. And in those moments, everything in us screams for justice. For vindication. For the chance to say what we really feel and finally “set the record straight.”
But Jesus… He didn’t take that road. Not even with people who truly deserved it.
He loved the Pharisees who plotted against Him. He loved the Roman soldiers who beat Him. He loved the crowd that screamed, “Crucify.” He loved the ones who mocked Him, spit on Him, and nailed Him to wood.
Through Him all things were made. John 1:3
We are His workmanship. Ephesians 2:10
Even the ones who killed Him were made by Him… In His image. Genesis 1:27
And He still chose to say nothing. No argument. No defense. No divine revenge. He denied Himself. And by doing so, He opened the doorway to grace and forgiveness for the very people who thought they’d won.
That’s the cross He carried. And that’s the cross He told us to carry, too.
It’s hard. It’s hard not to hope that someone “gets what’s coming to them.” It’s hard not to silently root for the downfall of someone who hurt us. It’s hard not to send that passive aggressive text. Not to tear someone down behind their back. Not to retaliate when we finally have the upper hand.
But that’s what Jesus meant. The cross is death to self. Death to our desire for revenge. Death to the craving for applause when we’re right. Death to our flesh when it rises up and says, “Say it. Post it. Prove your point.”
And instead… we follow.
Not follow some vague idea or abstract spiritual path. But follow a real Savior. One who absorbed the worst humanity had to offer and responded with love. Who forgave the ones hammering the nails. Who denied Himself so that we could live.
When the disciples heard those words, they couldn’t have imagined how literal it would become. That most would actually lay down their lives, each in different ways, for the sake of the gospel. But they chose it. Daily. Because they believed Jesus was worth it. They believed their story wasn’t just about them.
And maybe that’s the part we miss.
Jesus wasn’t calling them to pick up their cross so they could become martyrs or victims. He was calling them to become shade.
Like the old quote says: “Blessed is the man who plants trees under whose shade he will never sit.” That’s what this is. When you carry the cross, you plant something. You lay down your right to be first. You bury your demand to be seen, to be validated, to be avenged. And in that dying, something new grows. Something that will outlast you.
If the disciples had responded to Jesus’ death by launching a rebellion... If they had risen up and taken out every Pharisee, overthrown Rome, and declared justice for Jesus, it would’ve felt righteous. But it would have missed the point. They would have rewritten the story of power… instead of letting the cross rewrite the story of grace.
The same choice sits in front of us every day.
Deny yourself. Let it go. Carry the cross. Follow Jesus.
And in doing so… create shade for a future you may never see.
When Jesus said, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9:23, He hadn’t yet gone to the cross.
The disciples didn’t know what was coming, but they knew what a cross meant. It wasn’t symbolic to them. It wasn’t poetic. It was Rome’s method of slow, public, excruciating death. So when Jesus said these words, they wouldn’t have heard a spiritual metaphor. They would have heard a call to lay down their lives. To die.
And not just in some heroic blaze of glory… but to die to how they thought things should go.
That’s where it hits us hardest, isn’t it? We feel wronged. Offended. Betrayed. Someone takes credit for something we did. An old coworker manipulates their way forward while we’re left behind. A friend twists the story and we lose the relationship… or the trust… or the job. And in those moments, everything in us screams for justice. For vindication. For the chance to say what we really feel and finally “set the record straight.”
But Jesus… He didn’t take that road. Not even with people who truly deserved it.
He loved the Pharisees who plotted against Him. He loved the Roman soldiers who beat Him. He loved the crowd that screamed, “Crucify.” He loved the ones who mocked Him, spit on Him, and nailed Him to wood.
Through Him all things were made. John 1:3
We are His workmanship. Ephesians 2:10
Even the ones who killed Him were made by Him… In His image. Genesis 1:27
And He still chose to say nothing. No argument. No defense. No divine revenge. He denied Himself. And by doing so, He opened the doorway to grace and forgiveness for the very people who thought they’d won.
That’s the cross He carried. And that’s the cross He told us to carry, too.
It’s hard. It’s hard not to hope that someone “gets what’s coming to them.” It’s hard not to silently root for the downfall of someone who hurt us. It’s hard not to send that passive aggressive text. Not to tear someone down behind their back. Not to retaliate when we finally have the upper hand.
But that’s what Jesus meant. The cross is death to self. Death to our desire for revenge. Death to the craving for applause when we’re right. Death to our flesh when it rises up and says, “Say it. Post it. Prove your point.”
And instead… we follow.
Not follow some vague idea or abstract spiritual path. But follow a real Savior. One who absorbed the worst humanity had to offer and responded with love. Who forgave the ones hammering the nails. Who denied Himself so that we could live.
When the disciples heard those words, they couldn’t have imagined how literal it would become. That most would actually lay down their lives, each in different ways, for the sake of the gospel. But they chose it. Daily. Because they believed Jesus was worth it. They believed their story wasn’t just about them.
And maybe that’s the part we miss.
Jesus wasn’t calling them to pick up their cross so they could become martyrs or victims. He was calling them to become shade.
Like the old quote says: “Blessed is the man who plants trees under whose shade he will never sit.” That’s what this is. When you carry the cross, you plant something. You lay down your right to be first. You bury your demand to be seen, to be validated, to be avenged. And in that dying, something new grows. Something that will outlast you.
If the disciples had responded to Jesus’ death by launching a rebellion... If they had risen up and taken out every Pharisee, overthrown Rome, and declared justice for Jesus, it would’ve felt righteous. But it would have missed the point. They would have rewritten the story of power… instead of letting the cross rewrite the story of grace.
The same choice sits in front of us every day.
Deny yourself. Let it go. Carry the cross. Follow Jesus.
And in doing so… create shade for a future you may never see.
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