The Offer of a CrossMark 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. What did He offer him?. He offered him a cross. He said to the young man, It is true you lack one thing. I will tell you how you can get it. He laid out before him the cross with its extended arms. He laid upon him that terrible heart-breaking load of renunciation. I wonder why! Did you ever think, you Christian people, why it is that there is so much cross in your religion? Did you ever think why it is that Jesus always puts that to men first?. He put this to the young man because it was true. He would have the young man understand that if he was going to reach his best and come and company with Him, and seek the thing that made for perfection, then he must be prepared to live and to walk as He lived and walked and to be as He was, a poor, landless, homeless man.What is exactly now the demand by the Savior today? It is this: when Jesus wants a man, mark you, He wants all of him. Have as much money as you like. Have all ambitions that you like and that you can keep in your heart. But Jesus wants you, and if you give Him not yourself, your whole heart, and if you consider not all that you have His to be administered for Him, to be freely laid aside at His bidding, you cant follow Him. Make up your mind to that. F.M. Barton, ed., Pulpit Power and Eloquence.
The offer of a cross? Would you take up the offer?No doubt, we all suppose we have, but have we?The cross of rejection, loneliness, being misunderstood, not defending ourselves when reviled, being hated for being Christ's, for having a godly standard in this dark world...The list goes on.Do we carry the cross knowingly, or do we just assume it is there?Or do we not carry one at all?Food for thought.God bless.
Quote: "... and if you consider not all that you have His to be administered for Him, to be freely laid aside at His bidding, you cant follow Him."This become "a hard saying" when we think of our loved ones.LORD GOD of Hosts, Bless you both.
