Our crosses are not the same, though they are all made of wood; like the cross that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ bore while He lived on the earth. A cross can be made from different types of wood, but not all woods are the same in sizes, strengths and weights. For example, the cross made with pine wood cannot be compared in strength and weight, to a cross made from oak wood. Likewise, the cross made from oak wood cannot be compared to the strength and weight of the cross made from a mahogany wood. So, it is with the crosses that each one of us as children of the Most High God, bears in this world. Galatians 2:7 “On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised”. Our crosses signify the level of our walk of faith in the Lord. God is so faithful; that He will not give each one of us, more than we can handle. He knows all our strengths and weaknesses, more than any one of us can imagine. Therefore, He gives us a measure of grace, just like faith, to enable us carry our different weights and sizes of cross, and not faint “ Ephesians 4:7, But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift”. Also, in Luke 14:27, “Jesus said, “Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple”.
The crosses we carry in this world, signifies that we bear the mark of Jesus Christ, and that we are partakers of His pain and joy, His birth and death, His burial and resurrection, His ascension and glorification. The bible reminds us that as He is in this world, so are we, “1 John 4:17”. Also, Mathew 20:20-23 tells us,” Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favour of him. “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom. “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father. In this passage of the scripture, we can clearly see that as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling; that is through our own struggles, pains and trials in this world.
Some people bear crosses that weigh more than the crosses of others; and this can be seen in the passage of the scripture where Peter asked the Lord about what will become of John after His death. To this, Jesus replied in John 21:17-21 “The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”)When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Because of this, the rumour spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
The crosses we carry, are not based on our ages, race, titles or possessions; instead, they are born out of the grace of God upon our lives. That is the main reason Jesus told John and James, that it is God who determines who will sit on His left- and right-hand side in Heaven. God know how much weight each one of us can carry, and His grace is sufficient for us to match the weight of our crosses. Just like there are different measures of faith, there are also different weights for each cross we bear. Abraham’s walk with God was not the same as Moses’s walk with the Lord; David’s was not the same as that of Job’s; neither was Peter’s the same as Paul’s, and the list goes on. Our crosses can also be compared to the Refining Fire of God; how long each of us goes through it differs, but the grace of God is always sufficient for us at whatever pace and time we may need it.
Endurance, backed by faith and grace, is what keeps us steady with our crosses. Our strength is never enough to bear our crosses alone, but by the Holy Spirit, we are clothed with power and joy as we run the race that is set before us. Galatian 2:20 reminds us that our lives are no longer ours to live, but Christ; therefore, we must bear our crosses not by our might or by our power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Regardless of how heavy or light the crosses we bare are, what remains more significant, is that we are citizens of Heaven and not Hell. Just as the world hated and rejected Jesus, which resulted to His crucifixion on the cross; so, we too will face persecutions, afflictions and trials, because we identify with Jesus. “1 John 15:18, If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you”.
What determines the weight of the crosses we carry?
1. The grace of God upon our lives.
2. The level of our faith.
3. The level of degree in our relationship with God.
4. Our maturity in Christ.
5. Our divine callings and purpose on the earth.
6. The times and seasons.
7. Our obedience or disobedience to God.
Bible Scriptures to encourage us when our crosses are too heavy to carry.
* I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me “Philippians 4:13”.
*For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in “Psalms 27:10”.
*Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock “Psalms 27:3-5”.
*When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly “1 Peter 2:23”.
*And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together “Colossians 1:17”.
*But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast even more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me “2 Corinthians 12:9”.
*When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken “Psalms 34:17-20”.
*Casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you “1 Peter 5:7”.
*Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children “Ephesians 5:1”.
*I urge you, then, be imitators of me “1 Corinthians 4:16”.
*And endurance produces character, and character produces hope “Romans 5:4”.
*What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? “Roman 8:31”.
*Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you “Isaiah 49:15”.
*And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus “Philippians 4:19”.
*May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope “Romans 15:13”.
*For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast: ‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares! “Jeremiah 30:17”.
*Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me “Isaiah 49:16”.
*Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? “1 Corinthians 3:16”.
*But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation “Luke 17:25″.
*But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you “Matthew 5:44”.
*You whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off “Isaiah 41:9”.
*For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth “Deuteronomy 14:2”.
*For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope “Jeremiah 29:11”.
*But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed “Isaiah 53:5”.
*Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus “Philippians 3:13-14”.
*If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me “John 15:18-21”.
*Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets “Luke 6:22-23”.
*Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths “Proverbs 3:5-6”.
*For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord “Romans 8:38-39”.
*Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you “Deuteronomy 31:6”,
*Persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed “2 Corinthians 4:9”.
*Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted “Hebrews 12:3”.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer “Romans 12:12”.
*For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control “2 Timothy 1:7”.
*We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed “Corinthians 4:8-9”.
*Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms “James 5:13”.
*To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed “1 Peter 5:1”.
*And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away “1 Peter 5:4”.
*And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast “1 Peter 5:10”.
Our crosses are not the same, though they are all made of wood; like the cross that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ bore while He lived on the earth. A cross can be made from different types of wood, but not all woods are the same in sizes, strengths and weights. For example, the cross made with pine wood cannot be compared in strength and weight, to a cross made from oak wood. Likewise, the cross made from oak wood cannot be compared to the strength and weight of the cross made from a mahogany wood. So, it is with the crosses that each one of us as children of the Most High God, bears in this world. Galatians 2:7 “On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised”. Our crosses signify the level of our walk of faith in the Lord. God is so faithful; that He will not give each one of us, more than we can handle. He knows all our strengths and weaknesses, more than any one of us can imagine. Therefore, He gives us a measure of grace, just like faith, to enable us carry our different weights and sizes of cross, and not faint “ Ephesians 4:7, But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift”. Also, in Luke 14:27, “Jesus said, “Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple”.
The crosses we carry in this world, signifies that we bear the mark of Jesus Christ, and that we are partakers of His pain and joy, His birth and death, His burial and resurrection, His ascension and glorification. The bible reminds us that as He is in this world, so are we, “1 John 4:17”. Also, Mathew 20:20-23 tells us ,” Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favour of him. “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom. “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father. In this passage of the scripture, we can clearly see that as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling; that is through our own struggles, pains and trials in this world.
Some people bear crosses that weigh more than the crosses of others; and this can be seen in the passage of the scripture where Peter asked the Lord about what will become of John after His death. To this, Jesus replied in John 21:17-21 “The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”)When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Because of this, the rumour spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
The crosses we carry, are not based on our ages, race, titles or possessions; instead, they are born out of the grace of God upon our lives. That is the main reason Jesus told John and James, that it is God who determines who will sit on His left and right hand side in Heaven. God know how much weight each one of us can carry, and His grace is sufficient for us to match the weight of our crosses. Just like there are different measures of faith, there are also different weights for each cross we bear. Abraham’s walk with God was not the same as Moses’s walk with the Lord; David’s was not the same as that of Job’s; neither was Peter’s the same as Paul’s, and the list goes on. Our crosses can also be compared to the Refining Fire of God; how long each of us goes through it differs, but the grace of God is always sufficient for us at what ever pace and time we may need it.
Endurance, backed by faith and grace, is what keeps us steady with our crosses. Our strength is never enough to bear our crosses alone, but by the Holy Spirit, we are clothed with power and joy as we run the race that is set before us. Galatian 2:20 reminds us that our lives are no longer ours to live, but Christ; therefore, we must bear our crosses not by our might or by our power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Regardless of how heavy or light the crosses we bare are, what remains more significant, is that we are citizens of Heaven and not Hell. Just as the world hated and rejected Jesus, which resulted to His crucifixion on the cross; so, we too will face persecutions, afflictions and trials, because we identify with Jesus. “1 John 15:18, If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you”.
What determines the weight of the crosses we carry?
1. The grace of God upon our lives.
2. The level of our faith.
3. The level of degree in our relationship with God.
4. Our maturity in Christ.
5. Our divine callings and purpose on the earth.
6. The times and seasons.
7. Our obedience or disobedience to God.
Bible Scriptures to encourage us when our crosses are too heavy to carry.
* I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me “Philippians 4:13”.
*For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in “Psalms 27:10”.
*Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock “Psalms 27:3-5”.
*When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly “1 Peter 2:23”.
*And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together “Colossians 1:17”.
*But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast even more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me “2 Corinthians 12:9”.
*When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken “Psalms 34:17-20”.
*Casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you “1 Peter 5:7”.
*Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children “Ephesians 5:1”.
*I urge you, then, be imitators of me “1 Corinthians 4:16”.
*And endurance produces character, and character produces hope “Romans 5:4”.
*What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? “Roman 8:31”.
*Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you “Isaiah 49:15”.
*And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus “Philippians 4:19”.
*May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope “Romans 15:13”.
*For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast: ‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares! “Jeremiah 30:17”.
*Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me “Isaiah 49:16”.
*Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? “1 Corinthians 3:16”.
*But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation ”Luke 17:25″.
*But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you “Matthew 5:44”.
*You whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off “Isaiah 41:9”.
*For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth “Deuteronomy 14:2”.
*For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope “Jeremiah 29:11”.
*But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed “Isaiah 53:5”.
*Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus “Philippians 3:13-14”.
*If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me “John 15:18-21”.
*Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets “Luke 6:22-23”.
*Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths “Proverbs 3:5-6”.
*For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord “Romans 8:38-39”.
*Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you “Deuteronomy 31:6”,
*Persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed “2 Corinthians 4:9”.
*Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted “Hebrews 12:3”.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer “Romans 12:12”.
*For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control “2 Timothy 1:7”.
*We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed “Corinthians 4:8-9”.
*Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms “James 5:13”.
*To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed “1 Peter 5:1”.
*And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away “1 Peter 5:4”.
*And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast “1 Peter 5:10”.
Praise God, for His mercy endures forever more!!!
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