Luke 14:27 “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
To “come after” is to leave our present place in human fears and motives and to follow our Lord in faithful obedience to Him. To “come after” Jesus Christ is to leave behind carnal logic, lusts for things, quests for positions of power, and looking for security in vain things. As we leave our human fears and motives behind, we are to follow after our Lord in sincere obedience to His Commands (John 14:15), follow after Him in humility, follow after Him in showing outwardly the Love He has placed in us, follow after Him in prayer, follow after Him in His Truth, and to follow after Him to His Beloved Church. To “come after” our Lord is to “bear” our “cross”; that is, just simply endure the hard and difficult times as we keep going “forward” (Exodus 14:15) in faithful service to our merciful and gracious God. The greatest and most powerful way to show our love to our Lord, is to “bear” the hard and difficult times as we “go forward” singing “Amazing Grace How Sweet The Sound” (John Newton) as we loudly and unashamedly declare that “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:1-4). It is certain that in this present life we “shall have tribulation”, so we are not marked by whether or not we have “tribulation”, but how well and faithfully we “bear” our “tribulation”. The Children of Israel were trapped between two steep mountains, with the Red Sea in front of them, and the Egyptian army behind them. But, God Commanded them to “go forward” (“bear” their “cross”) in faithful obedience, trusting that the Lord would deliver them – and, He did! He delivered His Children then, and He will deliver us now! So, let us “give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalms 118:1)!