It’s God’s Mission, but OURS to fulfill...

You might be surprised, even shocked, at how many Christian folk don’t know what the real mission of the Church is.  It’s not complicated, even though when you view the workings of today’s Church, one can see how confusion about the “mission” can exist.

The Church’s one single mission, the prime directive... is the one that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are on: to redeem a lost world, to save sinners and transform them into saints.  So, who is responsible for carrying out this God-ordained mission?  

We are.  ALL Christians.  You and I may have different roles to play in this mission, and while it’s God’s mission, not ours, it is our responsibility to carry the subject matter of the mission to the four corners of the earth. The strategic mission belongs to God, the tactical execution of the mission belongs to His followers.  Jesus says this most clearly to his disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 where He says... “Go into the world, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And teaching them to obey everything that I’ve taught you.”

Everyone in God’s Church [believers, the body of Christ is the Church] is to be involved in His mission.  There are no bystander or bleacher positions.  Everyone rolls up their sleeves and wades into God’s mission, doing what they can, everything they can to accomplish His objective –– to seek and save the lost, the unsaved.  What we are to be doing is not of our making, not of our origin.  We are simply the workers in a constant and urgent global harvest of humanity that began at Pentecost, that never slows or stops, not until God calls it finished.  Okay, we get that right?  So, like most things man touches, even Godly things, there might be a problem with our attention to his mission.  Ah yes, there is.

Contemporary missions have become the fad of the few. Matthew 28 declares the primary mission of the church, but it is hardly recognized as such today.  Of course, significant efforts have been made to take the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth by churches, missions groups, societies, and individuals; but if we were to count all those involved in any phase of missions, the involved percentage as compared to so-called Christians would be dismally small.

The results of the fad-of-the-few-mentality have been disastrous. Two misconceptions have been most damaging.  First, missions is perceived as a super special assignment for extraordinary people. Nothing could be further from truth and certainly God’s purpose. The Bible teaches that God’s method is to use the foolish, the weak, and the despised persons of the world to bring glory to Him (1 Cor. 1:26-31).  Seeking the lost –– preaching and teaching the gospel by ordinary people brings great glory to God.  God’s purpose is to be accomplished by ordinary people who believe in and place their trust and confidence in an extraordinary God.  

Paul has been upheld as the ideal missionary for so long that many fail to realize that the spread of the gospel in the first century was accomplished primarily by people like Barnabas, Silas, Mark, Aquila, Epaphroditus, and a host of other exceedingly ordinary Christians along with Paul. Paul was just one guy.  Don’t misunderstand me, he did remarkable things in his mission tours, but while he was dong the one-man thing, many many others, hundreds, probably thousands were preaching and teaching in other places.  God intends to use everyone - the Marks and the Epaphrodituses, as well as the Pauls, to accomplish His mission. 

If we are to carry out God’s mission during our lifetime, we must erase from our minds the idea that only unusually gifted or theologically educated persons are qualified to preach, teach and be missionaries. Such thinking discourages one from identifying himself with missions unless he thinks he has an extraordinary gift and some “special” calling. This kind of thinking places a halo over the missionary’s head, making it impossible for him or her to measure up to the ideal.  A second misconception fostered by the fad-of-the-few mentality is that world missions can be done by proxy.  A third misconception... don’t wait for “the call” to serve.  If you “wait” you’ll never get the call.  God already issued a universal “call” in Matthew 28 for everyone who calls themselves a follower, a Christian, to get busy using your talents, whatever they may be, to help advance His mission.  Clear enough? 

More on the second and maybe the most debilitating misconceptions... far to many Christians think missionaries are their substitutes in world evangelization.  the missionary is a stand-in, so they don’t have to actively participate.  They feel satisfied to pray for missionaries, to support them financially, and to encourage them.  All these things should be done, but doing them does not relieve each Christian of his responsibility to be involved directly in God’s mission.  

Missions by proxy is the standard operating procedure in most of today’s churches. Some leave missions to a woman’s ministry group or a missions committee who make decisions and choices about which missions to support and what activities to be involved in.  These efforts are often driven more by the necessity to promote planned church events and mission weekends than focusing on God’s purpose - evangelism of the gospel.  Remember this well - there are only two kinds of Christians in the eyes of God:  Christian Missionaries - those who go and serve and Missionary Christians - those who send and support with active involvement.  No one can escape their individual responsibility to The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) which is a key centerpiece in our acceptance of the cleansing blood of Jesus.  It is a New Testament command to us from our Lord.  He wants all people to hear the gospel and be saved.  We are His agents, the only resource He uses for this noble endeavor.  No one is more special than another, we’re all in His mission together.  

Many Christians interpret their giving as paying their part of mission with gifts and thereby discharging their obligations to evangelize [speak out] the world. Missionaries, mission agencies, and mission boards are practical expressions of concern by Christians and local churches, but these alone cannot fulfill the obligation God has given to every Christian and to every congregation. Not everyone can be a missionary, but everyone must be on mission with God.

The Church is commissioned by God to look after His mission and cooperates with Him to send  missionaries, full-time preachers, teachers and often those who will venture to foreign lands. These missionaries are all-in, totally committed and therefore set apart by the Holy Spirit and that clear commitment is recognized by a local congregation.  These are ones who willingly cross natural and cultural barriers to carry the gospel to the hard of heart and yet unreached peoples.  I amplify these distinctions because missions are always in danger of becoming the expression of man’s efforts. God’s mission places His Church (Christians) at the center of the world’s conflicts, and people’s pains and sufferings. 

Missions can become identified easily with the culture of the sender or be seduced by elements of the culture in which it is being expressed.  People of other cultures quickly point out the inconsistent failures of western civilization. They react to a perceived superiority complex by resisting the efforts of western missionaries.

In spite of that reaction, many naive westerners believe that if modern business techniques and advertising methods were practiced, other nations and peoples groups would flock to Christ. It might be possible to franchise hamburgers, mufflers and theme parks, but a westernized packaging of the gospel is often unpalatable to people of other nations.  God’s mission, His eternal purpose, the preaching of the gospel, is a one-to-one, one-to-many endeavor that depends on the Holy Spirit to assist “you and me” in bringing forth God’s purpose to someone, somewhere.

God has purposefully limited Himself in our present time so as to save man by involving all of us, inefficient as we are, in His mission.  Our mission is not rocket science... it is simply to seek and save the lost found in every generation since Pentecost.  We know from Scripture that the Bible infuses a strong sense of urgency about the second coming of Christ. That urgency was sensed by the writers of the New Testament and born out in their words admonishing all to be vigilant, ready and most certainly to be about the Lord’s business of declaring far and wide.... the life saving gospel of salvation.

God’s mission will be accomplished when Christ delivers the kingdom to the Father, fully  complete. Meanwhile, he is giving his people every chance to be partners with Him in establishing the kingdom and in preparing to serve Him for eternity.  

What have you done for the Kingdom lately?  

RUN with ENDURANCE... Finish Strong!

“Run with endurance the race that God has set before you” Hebrews 12:1

Endurance is the key to running God’s race and finishing strong. Endurance is the thing.   

Press on to the finish. Run steady.  When obstacles block your path, run around them, keep a steady forward pace, don’t waiver, there are no breaks in this race, no coasting through the hills and valleys waiting for things to smooth out.  This race is not easy, its a life lived “in Christ” with no promises of an easy journey.  This race will be marked by troubles, periods of stress, extreme exhaustion and at times a strong desire to give up.  There are invisible forces pulling, pushing and prodding at you to throw in the towel, give up, take a rest you deserve it.  Saying you tried to finish is not good enough... you must finish this race... there are no prizes for “I tried, got close, did my best.” Only those who finish well will win the final victory and God’s crown of eternal life.  Endurance... without that internal chutzpah, you will never make the finish. 

A few famous philosophers have spoken of the quality of endurance and how important it is to the human spirit and life experience:  Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory. (William Barclay) Endurance is patience concentrated. (William Carlyle)  Every calamity is to be overcome by endurance. Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance. (Virgil)

This race God has set before you begins not when you are born, but when you are immersed into Christ in obedience to the gospel and his gift of the Holy Spirit begins dwelling within you (Acts 2:38).  The race for me began 31 years ago when I heard the truth of God’s Word and obeyed the gospel.  That decision was the starting point of the race God set before me, and I’m still running that race.  

The race is fulfilling the unique role God gives you to influence others for Christ. That is the prime directive and goal of our journey with God, to seek and save the lost, teaching them to be lifelong disciples.  Paul describes the tasks of his race in Colossians 1:28,29.... Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (ESV)  My race revolves around teaching the Bible, shepherding and serving my brethren in my local church, mission activities in southeast Asia, living each day of my life set apart to His service and doing whatever I can to make people – the unsaved – aware of God’s free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.  Your race may be different than mine—but it will always revolve around showing and sharing Christ’s love to people who don’t know Him and encouraging people who do to persevere in their journey with God.

This race requires endurance, it is a marathon—not a sprint.  It begins with your baptism into Christ and lasts until you die or Christ returns.  The key is not how fast you start the race, but how consistently you run... steady to the finish.

It is a steeple-chase marathon—it is filled with obstacles, including opposition from people who aren’t in the race and don’t want you to be in the race, from a cultural value-system that beckons you to live for self instead of for Christ, and from demonic spirits that hate Christ and want to knock you out of the race completely.

The fact that the Bible calls on us to run this race with endurance means that there is a danger that we will drop out of the race.  All people who call themselves Christian do not automatically finish their race.  Many start well but end poorly or not at all. They’ve taken their eyes off the prize... the race to finish well is no longer motivating, they’ve fallen under the powers of this fallen world.  As Paul says... Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Tim. 4:8)  You cannot afford to run this race without an understanding that there are forces that want to derail your run, to ruin your chance to reaching the finish and God’s reward.  What will help us have the endurance we need to finish well?  

Get rid of all baggage that will hinder you in your run.  If you have ever watched runners in a real marathon, they run light, without much to hinder their movements.  As they near the middle of the race you’ll often see runners stripping off extra shirts and jackets, everything but the one with their race number.  Everyone gets as light as possible, it’s a long race and they don’t want to carry any more weight than they have to so they can finish strong.  You never see anyone lugging a backpack in a 26 mile run!

Hebrews 12:1 says... throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,  That’s the author’s point, isn’t it?  You can’t finish this race with endurance if you’re carrying extra weight.  If you want to run this race, you need to get rid of all baggage that can hinder your ability to run and finish.  Notice that the text speaks of two different kinds of baggage.

The most common baggage is “the sin that so easily entangles or hinders our progress.”  This doesn’t mean that you can’t run the race if you commit sins, we’d all be out of the race if that were so. However, it means that you can’t stay in the race long if you are clutching on to and rationalizing things that you know God says are wrong and destructive.  When you’re clutching on to and rationalizing sexual immorality or substance abuse/dependence, it will sap your motivation and stamina.  When you clutch on to and rationalize bitterness and hatred, it will sap your motivation and stamina (Eph.4:32).  When you’re clutching on to and rationalizing things like materialistic greed, it will sap your motivation and stamina (Mark 4:18,19).

By distinguishing  “the sin that so easily hinders our progress” from “every weight that slows you down,” the author implies that even things that are not overtly morally wrong can be baggage that we need to lay aside, because they simply don’t fit into the course and race God has set before us. The Apostle Paul says these things may be okay in an of themselves, but when they are enslaving you, it’s time to put them down (1Cor. 6:12).

How about you?  Are you mired in baggage?   Has God shown you that you’re clutching on to some sin that is hindering your progress?  Has he pointed out a weight that is slowing you down?  Have you been complaining to yourself that living for Christ is exhausting, when the real problem is that you’re carrying burdensome baggage?  Get rid of it!   It sure helps to have some Christian friends in your life who will help you in this area. We need to be accountable to one another, to help one another identify the baggage in our lives, to pray with one another and to agree with God on this issue of throwing off every weight that hinders our progress.

Draw encouragement and strength from other veteran runners.  Hebrews 12:1 speaks of a “great cloud of witnesses” and Hebrews

chapter 11 names the first honor roll hall of fame of faithful men and women who pioneered this race... and they finished well.  The imagery you should construct in your mind is a stadium nearing the middle to the end of the marathon... filled with thousands of people who are cheering on the runners.  Anyone who has run a marathon (or even half-marathon) knows how much it helps to have people along the race course cheering you on.  But these ones mentioned in Hebrews 11 and called “a great cloud of witnesses” are a special group – they are veteran “runners” who made it to the finish. They are “witnesses to what it means to live a life of faith.”  The point is that if you want to run this race with endurance, you need to draw strength from other veteran runners.  And they are not just these ancient ones from the Old and New Testament, many are with you in your church family.  They can give you insight, motivation, and encouragement to keep going when you want to quit. Without question, the most beneficial source of strength is the inspired record of how God worked through specific people to advance his plan to rescue a lost humanity.  This is one reason to get into a daily Bible reading plan... you will meet and learn a lot from these “runners” who have already finished well.  You will even begin to understand those around you in your church family who are living as the faithful ancients as they run their race.  Imitate them... its your fuel for endurance.

The Old and New Testament figures, [and living faithful ones around you], can teach you a lot about how to run the race.  One of the most encouraging things you’ll learn is that they were not super-heroes.  They were normal people like you and me, who had weaknesses, character flaws, and made mistakes.   Noah built the ark—but he also got drunk after the flood.  Abraham followed God into a land he’d never visited—but he also chickened out twice about Sarah being his wife.  Moses forsook the power and prestige of Pharaoh’s court and stood against his world’s super-power—but he also whined and complained and mistreated God’s people.  David was a man after God’s heart who in many ways foreshadowed the Messiah—but he also fell hard through his adulterous affair with Bathsheba.  The encouragement here is that God is able to work powerfully through very flawed people, if only the trajectory of our lives is to trust him and follow his directions.

With New Testament figures, like Peter and John and Paul, you can read about what they did in the Book of Acts, and then peer into their hearts through their epistles. You can also learn a lot about mistakes to avoid by reading about Old Testament negative examples, people who dropped out of the race or didn’t finish well.  You can also get strength from reading stories and biographies of other Christian workers... Christ-followers over the last 2000 years.  You will learn about ordinary people like who lived extraordinary lives for Christ.  You will be encouraged to see that anyone who has ever stood up and served God faithfully, had weaknesses and fears and all kinds of problems, yet God worked powerfully through them to advance His plan because they stayed in the race.  They never gave up!

You can also get strength from workers God has placed in your life.  When you get in the race, God sovereignly brings people into your proximity who can help you learn how to run your race more effectively.  They also are a unique source of strength because of the tactical knowledge about following Christ you can get from them.  Run with them, follow their example.

What about you?  Are you flagging because you’re trying to run the race by yourself?  Get strength from these other veteran “runners.”  This is one of the best things about fellowship with like-minded believers, you get to be around other “runners” who have already run through the part of the course you’re presently in.   You get to rub shoulders with people who have endurance, who can teach you how to fine-tune it for your run.  You get to learn from them how to study the Bible’s “runners” and get strength from them.  Don’t neglect the precious resource of fellowship.   Get involved, seek out fellow believers and ask them to mentor you.  

Here’s what you have to run your race: (1) a “great cloud” of those who have gone before you, (2) a “great crowd” of fellow runners with you now, heading to the same destination, (3) the Holy Spirit to equip and enable you to meet life’s challenges as you run for your crown (4) The Bible, prayer, fellowship, personal study, teaching, mentors, accountability partners, service opportunities, caring for others, giving, etc, etc.  Living the Christian Life.

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. Hebrews 10:36

A Great Cloud casts a Giant Shadow...

Run a marathon... 26 miles?  No way!  That sounds difficult if not impossible!  I really don’t have the desire, nor the stamina to take on such a challenging endeavor.  Tell you what, how ‘bout I just stand along the way of the race and watch everyone else running?  I’ll cheer them on, encourage them.  But, I can’t run.    

Now, that might be the reaction from many of us to running a real marathon of 26 miles.  I know its not on my bucket list.  But how do you feel when you contemplate your journey as a Christian?  Are you prepared for the long haul?  Do you have the stamina and strength to make the journey?  We’re told that our lives in Christ will be much like a marathon, not a sprint.  

Actually, the question is not so much whether the Christian life is a short sprint or a long marathon, but do we really understand that the Christian life is a race that must be run if we want to claim what God has promised awaits us at the finish... a crown of life? Just like what happens in a real race, some train and finish well while others are in it for the free T-shirt and suntan. Which one are you?  How do we run in a way so we can win?  First, let me say, winning this race, is simply finishing the race.  It’s not about beating fellow runners to a finish line.  In this race, finishing and finishing well is the victory.

Okay, if you are a Christian you will need help to run this race to victory.  It’s not a race we can run on our own strength.  We can depend on God’s grace and His help to run the race. In fact, at times He will even carry us along the way during difficult times.  God as your race partner is essential to even be in the race.  But I think we need more.  We need examples of real flesh and blood sin-prone humans who have run the race and finished well.  God has provided just what we need... its like a hall of fame... a legion of honor, made up of people just like us, who ran and finished God’s race.

The Bible calls such ones “a great cloud of witnesses” and they can be our encouragement and we can draw strength from their experiences.  Who are “the cloud of witnesses” mentioned in Hebrews 12:1?   Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Here the writer to the Hebrews exhorts all who profess faith in Jesus Christ, the “author and perfecter of our faith” (v. 2), to do two things. First, we are to remove or put off any burden that keeps us from Christ-likeness, especially sin because sin ensnares us and keeps us in bondage. Second, we are to persevere, patiently enduring all things until we grow and mature in the faith.  James reminds us that trials serve to strengthen our faith and bring us to maturity (James 1:2-3).  Hebrews 12:1 is reminding us to persevere through our trials, knowing that, by God’s faithfulness, we won’t be overwhelmed by them (1 Corinthians 10:13).

So who are the “cloud of witnesses,” and how is it they “surround” us? To understand this, we need to look at the previous chapter, as evidenced by the word therefore beginning chapter 12.  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the rest of the Old Testament believers looked forward with faith to the coming of the Messiah.  The author of Hebrews illustrates this eloquently in chapter 11 and then ends the chapter by telling us that these men and women of Old Testament times had faith to guide and direct them, but God had something better planned. They didn’t have a clear picture of the future or of the magnitude of God’s promises, but they trusted in God enough to build a sustaining faith that carried them through a life of loyalty and obedience to God.  They had hope and trusted by faith that God would fill in the details of His promises in His due time.  

Hebrews chapter 11 recognizes these faithful men and women who paved the way for us.  Trail blazers!  Pioneers!  What the Old Testament believers looked forward to in faith—the Messiah—we look back to, having seen the fulfillment of all the prophecies concerning His first coming.  

We are surrounded by the saints of the past in a unique way.  It’s not that the faithful ones who have gone before us are spectators to the race we are running.  Nor should we expect them to be engaged spiritual helpers for us in our journey.  Rather, they are a figurative representation and means of encouragement... they did it... they made their journey with God and finished well... so can we!  That’s the message of Hebrews chapter 11 and 12:1-2... many many have gone before you and me with much less information, much less clarity, and they held fast to a faith in a God who never fails to keep His promises.  

So, a great cloud of witnesses have gone before us! Since God and man began carving out a relationship, men and women from all walks of life, from all places on the earth, from all generations, can attest to the power of God in their lives.  Most especially has this been encouraging since the Day of Pentecost, when the  Church was born and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit came into the lives of born again believers:  they heard, they listened, they trusted, they obeyed and they succeeded in their journey with God’s help.  Countless millions over the past 2,000 years have run their race to glory.  Some known, but most are nameless and faceless, known only to God for their faithful lives and their races finished well.  

Today, we should act as if they are all in sight and cheering us on to the same victory born of a life of faith that carried them to the finish and their crowns of eternal life. We should be inspired to keep on keepin' on... motivated by the godly examples these saints who have gone before us, whose lives of faith encourage us to run the race for life... eternal life, strong to our finish. 

Run for the crown!  You can make it.  We all can, if we simply trust and obey and look to those who are already there.  We can draw courage and strength from “that great cloud of witnesses” for the race set before us!

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  
1 Timothy 4:7

Are YOU willing...?

Then Jesus said to them all:  “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”  Luke 9:23; Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34.

What did Jesus mean when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me”?

Let’s begin with what Jesus didn’t mean. Many people interpret “cross” as some sort of burden they must carry in their lives: a strained relationship, a thankless job, a physical illness. With self-pitying pride, they say, “That’s my cross I have to carry.” Such an interpretation is not what Jesus meant when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.”

When Jesus carried His cross to be crucified, no one was thinking of the cross as a symbol of a burden to carry. To a person in the first-century, the cross meant one thing and one thing only: death by the most painful and humiliating means human beings could inflict.  The Romans forced convicted criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of crucifixion, bearing a cross meant carrying their own execution device while facing ridicule along the way to death.

Christians today view the cross as a cherished symbol of atonement, forgiveness, grace, and love.  But is that the ultimate message Jesus was seeking to convey in His words... “Take up your cross and follow Me?  Most importantly... what does it mean to “take up your cross daily?”

“Take up your cross and follow Me” means being willing to “die to self” in order to follow Jesus. It’s a call to absolute surrender. After each time Jesus commanded cross bearing, He said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:24-25). Although the call is tough, the reward is priceless.

Wherever Jesus went, He drew crowds. Although many of these multitudes often followed Him for selfish interests, those who did see Him as Messiah, had a distorted view of who He really was and what He would do. They thought the Christ would usher in the restored kingdom of Israel. They believed He would free them from the oppressive rule of their Roman occupiers. Even Christ’s own inner circle of disciples thought the kingdom was coming soon through armed conflict (Luke 19:11). When Jesus began teaching that He was going to die at the hands of the Jewish leaders and their Gentile overlords (Luke 9:22), His popularity sank. Many of His followers who heard such talk rejected Him. Truly, they were not able to put aside [put to death] their own ideas, plans, and desires, and exchange them for His.

Following Jesus is easy when life runs smoothly.  Our true commitment to Him is revealed during life’s challenges and trials. Jesus assured us that trials will come to His followers (John 16:33). Discipleship demands sacrifice, and Jesus never hid that cost.

In Luke 9:57-62, three people seemed willing to follow Jesus. When Jesus questioned them further, their commitment was half-hearted at best. They failed to count the cost of following Him. None was willing to take up his cross and crucify upon it their own self-focused interests.

Therefore, Jesus appeared to dissuade them. How different from the typical Gospel presentation you may hear today.  How many people would respond to an invitation that sounded something like this... “Come follow Jesus, and you may face the loss of friends, family, reputation, career, and possibly even your life”?  There is one benefit to this blunt honesty... the number of false converts would likely decrease.  Such a call is what Jesus meant when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.”

If you wonder if you are ready to take up your cross, consider these questions: Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing some of your closest friends?  Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means alienation from your family?  Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means the loss of your reputation?  Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your job?  Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your life?  Are YOU willing.......?

In some places of the world, these consequences are a daily reality. But notice the questions are phrased, “Are you willing?” Following Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean all these things will happen to you, but are you willing to take up your cross?  If there comes a point in your life where you are faced with a choice... Jesus or the comforts of this life, which will you choose?

Commitment to Christ means taking up your cross daily, giving up your hopes, dreams, maybe your possessions, even your very life if need be for the cause of Christ.  

Only if you willingly take up your cross may you be called by HIM on of His  true disciples (Luke 14:27). The reward is worth the price. 

Jesus followed His call of death to self (“Take up your cross and follow Me”) with the gift to us of a life in Him: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25-26).  

There is no greater or clearer teaching anywhere of the meaning of being a disciple. This is how our Master lived, so this is how His disciples must live. We must live our lives in complete and total submission to the will of God.  Reaffirm your commitment daily, and you will actually prosper in the Lord, even though your choice to serve Him may from time to time bring you trials and hardships.