The Sacrifice of Following

In following Jesus there is a certain degree of self-denial and sacrifice that is necessary. Jesus didn’t mince words, nor did He cushion the blow when He told His followers what following Him would entail. He said that for those who wanted to be His disciple, they would have to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Him daily. This was way before Jesus would carry His cross and walk up a hill to be crucified for the whole of the world’s sins.

What does this cross look like for each of us, though?

For Jesus, the cross was His assignment. It was a weighty kingdom assignment entrusted to Him, which He willingly took upon Himself. It’s no different for every one of us who follow Him. Each of us has a specific kingdom assignment given to us by God Himself. These are assigned to us even before we are born into this world but when we accept Jesus as our Saviour, we have the help of the Holy Spirit to unveil and understand what that assignment is.

This assignment will become your life’s purpose and you will find that most of your energies and passions will be directed to this.

Following Jesus while carrying your cross implies sacrificing your comfort and being totally obedient to Him while doing the things you were created for.

Very often, carrying our kingdom assignment requires that we forego comforts that we may be used to so that we are free to serve God without anything holding us down. The heaviness of our assignment is attributed to the glory of God that encircles us now that we are one with Christ. God’s glory is weighty, and when we choose to accept our kingdom assignment, it goes without saying that we will often feel the weight of it. It will come with its challenges and victories. Through it all, Jesus promises to be with us!

Declaration: Jesus helps me carry my weighty Kingdom assignment.