He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walk, – 1 John 2:6
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20
I have climbed several mountains in my life: Elbert, Quandary, Shavano, and Tabeguache. Mountains are strenuous, long, steep, and often cold. In other words: mountains are miserable. There is always a point in my trek when I ask myself, “why on earth am I choosing to do this? Why am I subjecting myself to pure and utter suffering?” However, that sentiment always disappears when I reach the top. I was recently on a difficult hike and this same thought came into my head. In that moment I was reminded of Christ and His life on earth. Jesus was called “a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Is 53:3). He left the glory of heaven and subjected Himself to an entire life of suffering. His life was not one of comfort, and He never served Himself (Mtt 4:2ff, Jn 4:31-33). Even when He was in agony in the garden, knowing the pain He was about to endure on the cross, He prayed for that pain to occur, knowing it was the will of the Father (Mtt 26:39,42).
Jesus tells us that in order to follow Him, we must first deny ourselves. Luke 9:23-25 says, “and He said to them all, if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?” Just like Christ did on the road to His death, we must take up our cross daily. What does this mean? What is our cross? Our cross represents the things in life that happen to us because we have chosen to be a disciple of Christ. We don’t get to pick and choose our crosses, and the nature of them may even change from time to time. It may be that your cross is certain sins and temptations that you struggle with. Perhaps it is a heartache you are currently suffering. Whatever it may be, we are commanded to bear it; to pick it up and conquer it rather than let it weigh us down and overtake us.
When hiking a mountain, you have to do a lot of things to help you on your trek. You have to pack extremely light, drink lots of water, and wear sturdy boots. Sometimes it seems as though we do the same when carrying our cross. Often we try to make changes to ease the pain of cross-bearing. We pick out the smallest crosses and wear them around our neck or put them on our keychains. We sand our cross down to take out all the painful splinters. We put on a sturdy pair of boots for the journey. Simply put, we try to make our discipleship as easy and as comfortable as possible. Is this what Christ did? Certainly not! He was beaten, scourged, and then forced to carry a cross beam that is estimated to be anywhere from 150-300 pounds! No part of His life was easy or desirable from a worldly perspective. In like manner we must also bear a heavy cross, and live a life of self-denial.
If we are to imitate Christ in our lives (1 Pt 2:21, 1 Jn 2:6), we must realize that our life on earth will not be one of comfort. Rather we should be comfortable with suffering! I still remember my first time climbing a mountain. I was fourteen, and hiked up the 14,439 ft Mt Elbert. To put it plainly, I hated it. I stopped what seemed like every five minutes, cried what seemed like every ten minutes, and wanted to give up from the start. However, my second mountain was a cake walk by comparison, not because I was more fit or it was a significantly easier climb. It was easier because I got used to suffering. I gave into the idea that I would be in pain, and made the choice to bear it rather than stop and give up. I got used to the physical grief that I had to endure to reach the top. The same is true in our Christian lives. We must be okay with the idea that we are not here to live for ourselves and our physical wants, even needs.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Gal 2:20). What imagery this verse gives us! We are crucified, we are dead with Christ. Our entire identity is quite literally Christ Jesus. Do we live like He is our whole being?
When you go through a moment or period of suffering, what do you do? Do you turn to worldly devices to solve your problems, do you deflect and place blame on others, do you decide that you need to take a day off to pamper and serve yourself? Or do you turn to God through prayer and study, and understand that suffering is normal (2Tim 3:12)?
We are blessed to know that Christ’s suffering was not in vain, therefore neither is ours. He suffered for a purpose and was glorified in death (Heb 2:9). I climb mountains, go through that suffering, so I can experience the view from the top. When we suffer for Christ’s sake, we are glorified and know that our reward is coming (Rom 8:17-18).
The next time you face suffering (physical, mental, or spiritual), I encourage you to think of Jesus’ life on earth. Think of the “Man of Sorrows.” Remembering Him ad the life He lived and died for me always gives me comfort and perspective. Expect suffering, be acquainted with grief, and remember that this world is not your home.
“Man of sorrows what a name
for the Son of God, who came
ruined sinners to reclaim:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!”
–Lexi Hutson
