We Take Up the Cross
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23.
It is the power of the cross alone that can separate man from the strong confederacy of sin. Christ gave Himself for the saving of the sinner. Those whose sins are forgiven, who love Jesus, will be united with Him. They will bear the yoke of Christ. This yoke is not to hamper them, not to make their religious life one of unsatisfying toil. No; the yoke of Christ is to be the very means by which the Christian life is to become one of pleasure and joy. The Christian is to be joyful in contemplation of that which the Lord has done in giving His only begotten Son to die for the world, “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Those who stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Immanuel, should be faithful soldiers in Christ's army. They should never be disloyal, never be untrue. Many of the young will volunteer to stand with Jesus, the Prince of life. But if they would continue to stand with Him, they must constantly look unto Jesus, their Captain, for His orders. They cannot be soldiers of Christ and yet engage with the confederacy of Satan, and help along his side, for then they would be enemies of Christ. They would betray sacred trusts. The Youth's Instructor, March 30, 1893.
The cross ... is to be lifted and borne without a murmur or complaint. In the act of raising it, you will find that it raises you. You will find it alive with mercy, compassion, and pitying love.57Letter 145, 1900.
Through bearing the cross your experience may be such that you can say, “‘I know that my Redeemer liveth,’ and because He lives, I shall live also.” What an assurance is this! Manuscript 85, 1901.
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