"And whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me." Matthew 10:38

“That’s my cross I have to carry”, says the one who interprets the cross as a burden given by God to us. During the time of Jesus, a cross wasn’t just a symbol of pain and suffering; it was mainly a symbol of death. When Jesus said “take up your cross and follow Me”, He meant that we need to put to death our own plans and desires and turn our lives over to Him and do His will.

Jesus doesn’t simply call us to believe that He exists, or even to believe that He can save us. He calls on us to commit our whole lives to Him—to trust Him alone for our salvation, and then to follow Him as His disciples.

Following Jesus may seem easy when our life runs smoothly. Our true commitment to Him is revealed during trials. It is easy for us to affirm the Lord when we are in favor of what is happening to us but when the going gets tough, it is very easy for us to disobey Him and even turn our backs on Him.

Why is it easy for us to forsake God when we think that the cross is too heavy for us to carry? We tend to forget to trust Him in times that we need Him more in our lives and we forget that He carries the cross with us.


The Gospel calls upon us to redirect our actions on strengthening our faith that we bear for our Lord, Jesus Christ, for he said, “whoever receives you, receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

-Alyssandra Bautista

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