Gladly The Cross I'd Bear
by Pastor Ricky Kurth
The
above title is based on an old Christian joke that tells of a hymn by
this name that was misunderstood by a child to refer to a cross-eyed
bear named Gladly! It is not known if there ever was such a hymn, but
the idea for the title surely comes from the words of the Lord Jesus
Christ:
"And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it" (Matt. 10:38,39).
It
is commonly taught from these words that "everyone has his cross in
life to bear," that we all face different challenges in life, and if we
bear them well we will go to heaven. That this cannot be our Lord's
intent can be seen from Mark 10:21, where the Lord told the rich young
ruler:
"...take up THE cross, and follow Me."
Here
we see the Lord was not speaking of each man having his own personal
burden in life to bear that was distinct from that of others, but rather
that He had one cross in mind that each man had to shoulder, and in so
doing make it his own. By examining the context of each time the Lord
spoke about bearing a cross, we can learn about the particular cross He
had in mind.
Often
when the Lord spoke about bearing a cross (Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34 ;
Luke 9:23), it was in the context of His own death on the Cross (Matt.
16:21; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22). Thus the "cross" that the kingdom saint
was asked to bear was a willingness to give his life for the Lord, just
as the Lord had given His life for them. This willingness to die for the
Lord is also mentioned in the context of bearing the cross (Matt.
10:38,39; 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24).
But
while many kingdom saints gave their lives for the cause of Christ, as
will many more in the coming Tribulation, certainly not all Hebrew
believers were called upon to bear the cross of martyrdom. However, the
context of many of these "bear his cross" verses indicates that there
was yet another way that kingdom saints could give their life for the
Lord. It is significant that several times after speaking of bearing the
cross, the Lord said:
"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul" (Matt. 16:26 cf. Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25).
Since
the Kingdom gospel included the command to sell "all" of one's
belongings (Luke 12:33 ; 18:22), it appears that the "cross" the Lord
asked all kingdom saints to bear was the selling of all their material
possessions.
And
so, in summary, the "cross" the Lord asked the Hebrews to bear was the
giving of their lives for Him, some as living sacrifices and some as
dying sacrifices, just as He had given His life for them.
Les Feldick Ministries
30706 W. Lona Valley Rd.
Kinta, OK 74552
Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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