Morning, April 5
Go To Evening Reading
“On him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.”
Luke 23:26
We see in Simon’s carrying the cross a picture of the work of the Church throughout
all generations; she is the cross-bearer after Jesus. Mark then, Christian,
Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering. He bears a
cross, not that you may escape it, but that you may endure it. Christ
exempts you from sin, but not from sorrow. Remember that, and expect
to suffer.
But let us comfort ourselves with this thought, that in our case,
as in Simon's, it is not our cross, but Christ’s cross which we carry. When you are molested for your piety; when your religion brings the
trial of cruel mockings upon you, then remember it is not your cross, it is Christ's cross; and how delightful is it to carry the cross of our Lord Jesus!
You carry the cross after him . You have blessed company; your path is marked with the footprints
of your Lord. The mark of his blood-red shoulder is upon that heavy
burden. 'Tis his cross, and he goes before you as a shepherd goes before his sheep. Take up your cross daily,
and follow him.
Do not forget, also, that you bear this cross in partnership . It is the opinion of some that Simon only carried one end of the
cross, and not the whole of it. That is very possible; Christ may
have carried the heavier part, against the transverse beam, and Simon
may have borne the lighter end. Certainly it is so with you; you do
but carry the light end of the cross, Christ bore the heavier end.
And remember, though Simon had to bear the cross for a very little while, it gave him lasting honour . Even so the cross we carry is only for a little while at most, and then we shall receive
the crown, the glory. Surely we should love the cross, and, instead
of shrinking from it, count it very dear , when it works out for us “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”