Are You Strong Enough to Carry the Christian Cross? (Jeremiah 36-42)
What does that even mean: the Christian cross? And to carry it, as in, physically?
Life is all about choices, but some events happen to us outside of our control that can really darken our days–childhood abuse, dishonorable businessmen, thieving employees, car accidents, cancer–just to name a few.
Are those all part of our Christian cross we are to carry?
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What does that even mean: the Christian cross? And to carry it, as in, physically?
Life is all about choices, but some events happen to us outside of our control that can really darken our days–childhood abuse, dishonorable businessmen, thieving employees, car accidents, cancer–just to name a few.
Are those all part of our Christian cross we are to carry?
It’s never too late to start!
Download your first two weeks free by signing up below (or buy Book One of the Family Bible Plan)!
In general...
The Christian cross we bear is a metaphor for what we deal with as Christians and how we are to deal with them.
Before the Christian cross even came into the picture, Jeremiah lived his life in a manner worthy of his calling. He bore a hefty cross as a result of his obedience to God.
The King and his advisors ignored the warnings Jeremiah was told by God to pronounce, he was unfairly imprisoned, and he was also beaten. The Christian cross is not made of toothpicks in which we can shove it into our pockets and continue our days as we please.
The Bible makes it very clear that there is a constant battle going on and we have ongoing choices to make to obey God and stand for Him or cave to the world and it’s pressures.
To live with a toothpick cross is not the same as to live with a Christian cross.
The King didn't help...
Justice is something we all crave whether we realize it or not. When something unfair happens, our hearts cry for justice to be done.
Oftentimes, those in authority hold different values higher.
Sometime after Jeremiah had been beaten and jailed, the King privately requests what God’s plan is. There are 3 mentions in these chapters that King Zedekiah seeks out Jeremiah in private dealings.
To only deal with God in private is not living your life in obedience.
The king clearly was not on Jeremiah’s team, so-to-speak. He treated God’s words almost the same as our world treats psychics. Such a trivial disrespect he showed to God.
When authority washes their hands...
In Bible times, to wash ones hands with regard to a situation was somewhat equivalent to “just do what you want”.
Well, King Zedekiah had his own similar method to hand over Jeremiah.
Their intention was to kill Jeremiah without his blood on their hands. King Zedekiah washed his hands of the situation, allowing them to do whatever they wished, knowing full well the ultimate goal was death. For all the private meetings he had with Jeremiah, he never repented or turned to God in humility… his treatment of Jeremiah evidences his unchanged heart.
Jeremiah faced a small taste of what Jesus went through years’ later with Pontius Pilate.
Pointing to the future...
Both men innocent, only guilty of obeying God. Both men treated horrendously. Both had authority figures who handed them over knowing full well the punishment sought for the false accusations was death.
Jeremiah did not know what it meant to carry the Christian cross, but his life represents to us that he carried it well. It is in his examples we come to see later how the truly innocent, Jesus, suffered a similar fate. And it is through Jesus that we can truly understand what it means to carry a Christian cross.
Our Christian cross...
Jeremiah went through persecution, he had hardly any he could call friend, he remained single, had been beaten and imprisoned multiple times, and he STILL OBEYED.
He STILL obeyed.
That is the heart of the message to carry the Christian cross.
Now, are there hard things in life we deal with that seemingly have nothing to do with our Christian walks? Yes!
But it’s through those, that God helps us readjust our cross and keep going on our journey to Heaven.
Maybe you’re in the midst of some trials now, or maybe you’ve just clawed your way out of some. Either way, consider these questions.
Did you grow closer to God through the trial?
Did you consider how this trial could lead you to strengthen your faith?
Are you choosing to see the trial ultimately as a gift (or that maybe you can in time)?
Did you consider that the trial was worth the pain because it led you to see God clearer?
Has your heart softened to being obedient to God, perhaps because you started understanding His sovereignty a little more?
For all those questions: why or why not?
The Christian cross is worth it...
Every trial has the potential to draw us closer to God. It also has the potential to realign our mindsets to think Heavenward.
The earthly passions and lusts we have for the things of this world are trivial. They matter not for our eternity. Whether we realize it or not, what draws us closer to God, whether trial or blessing, is a gift!
Life can seem unfair, the things that happen to us can victimize us and cause us to feel oppressed. But, we are called to rise above those mindsets; nowhere in the Bible do you see a Christ follower continue in that line of thinking. We are more than our situations because we have the Holy Spirit living in us preparing our hearts for Heaven!
Our future is at stake here, and we can choose to live like King Zedekiah or Jeremiah as we carry our Christian cross through life.
Zedekiah knew the the word of God had power, but cowered to men and kept his wonder private. Jeremiah lived an obedient life out loud, for all to see… there was no denying Whom he represented, worshiped, or proclaimed messages for.
Are you strong enough to carry the Christian cross like Jeremiah?
Last Week
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Every day we are faced with the decision to carry it or not – many, many times. I often fail. But I pray to obey more often than I fail.
Thank you for your linkup! I’m not sure I’m strong enough to carry it…but…I know Christ is who lives in me. I hope I will look to His strength in all my cross carrying moments. Thank you for your encouraging post!