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We need to learn to exercise the key of taking up the cross (Matt. 16:24):
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To take up the cross simply means to take up the will of God; the cross is God's will (26:39; John 18:11):
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The Lord Jesus was not forced to go to the cross like a criminal; He was willing to go because the cross was God's will (Matt. 26:39).
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The Lord Jesus was willing to be crucified so that through His death, His life might be released to produce and build up the church (John 12:24).
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The cross was a great suffering to the Lord, but He cared not for the suffering but for the fulfillment of God's purpose (Heb. 12:2; Col. 1:24).
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Let him...take up his cross (Matt. 16:24) means that we are not forced to bear the cross but that we willingly take it up:
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Our husband, wife, and children are God's will and are therefore our cross.
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The one church is God's will, and every brother and sister in the church is God's will; thus, to bear the cross is to bear the church and to bear all the saints so that we would have the genuine oneness (John 17:21-23; Eph. 4:3, 13; 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 2:2).
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We need not only to take up our cross but also to carry our cross, that is, to remain on the cross, keeping our old man under the termination of the cross day by day (Luke 14:27; Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10; 1 Cor. 15:31):
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We have received the divine life through the Lord's crucifixion; now, in order to be built up in this life, we need to willingly and happily take up the cross.
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We should not care for our taste, feeling, or consciousness; rather, we should care only for God's will, which is that we would have the genuine oneness (John 17:21-23; Eph. 4:3, 13; 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 2:2).
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 16:24 ...If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.26:39 ...He fell on His face and prayed, saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.
The cross is a matter of suffering. Crucifixion was the method used by the Roman government to execute criminals. No doubt, to the criminal the cross was a suffering because he did not choose to be crucified. On the contrary, he was forced to be crucified. The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, however, was altogether different. He was not forced to suffer crucifixion; He chose it. This was His own preference. He was not compelled to go to the cross; He was willing to do so because His cross was God's will. Hence, His crucifixion was for the fulfillment of God's will. The Lord was willing to take up the cross and be crucified for the fulfillment of God's purpose. In other words, Christ was not forced to die like a criminal. Rather, He was willing to be crucified so that through death His life might be released to produce the church.
When He was on the cross, the Lord suffered greatly. But that suffering was not forced upon Him. He took it willingly. In Matthew 26:39 the Lord prayed to the Father, “Not as I will, but as You will.” At that same time He also prayed, “Your will be done” (v. 42). The Lord was willing to take up the cross, to go to the cross, and to remain on the cross until God's will had been fulfilled. This is the significance of the first mention of the cross in the Bible. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 1, “The Exercise of the Kingdom for the Building of the Church,” p. 81)
Today's Reading
We are not forced to bear the cross, but...we willingly take it up. Notice, [in Matthew 16:24] the Lord Jesus did not say, “Let him deny himself and be crucified.” No, He said, “Let him...take up his cross.” We are not to be crucified, but we are to pick up the cross. However, certain brothers have said, “I have been crucified by my dear wife many times.” Such brothers are not cross-bearers; they are criminals executed by their wives. If you say that your children are crucifying you, you are not a cross-bearer but an executed criminal. Today most Christians are criminals being executed; very few are cross-bearers. Let me ask you this question: Are you a criminal or a cross-bearer? We all need to say, “Praise the Lord, I am not a criminal. I am one who is willing to bear the cross. I have not been crucified by others; rather, I take up the cross and bear it.”Suppose a brother's wife causes him to suffer. Since no divorce is permitted, he has two choices regarding her. He may either suffer with her like a criminal being executed on the cross, or he may take her as God's will and as his lot and portion. He may say, “God has allotted her to me. It was not I who married her; it was God who gave her to me. This is God's will, God's ordination. Hallelujah, I am willing and happy to bear the cross! I am not a criminal but a happy cross-bearer.” If we do this, the presence of the Lord will be with us, and we shall enjoy the riches of life. Furthermore, we shall have a strong testimony of being built into one.
If you make a selection among [the saints in] the churches, you are a wide open gate for Satan to come out. Thus, you must use the second key—the taking up of the cross. We need to say, “Lord, Your will is that there be one church in the universe and one church in every city. Lord, Your will is also that I be one with all my brothers and sisters. As long as anyone is a believer, I must accept him without choice or preference. My likes or dislikes do not mean anything.” This is the unique way for us to be built together. Otherwise, our preferences and tastes will constantly fluctuate. Today I may feel positively toward you, but tomorrow I may feel negatively. Both in the church life and in married life there should be no fluctuation. What can keep us stable and steadfast is the bearing of the cross. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 1, “The Exercise of the Kingdom for the Building of the Church,” pp. 81-83, 85-86)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1978, vol. 1, “The Exercise of the Kingdom for the Building of the Church,” ch. 5