The Obvious Is Undeniable
Some things are simply obvious. During the early Restoration Movement a preacher was discussing in a wooded area the subject of “Falling From Grace.” At one point in his sermon he jumped up and grabbed a branch of a tree. While holding the limb, suspended in the air, he asked his audience, “If I turn loose, will I fall?” The answer to his question was obvious, and so was the point he made. “If we turn loose of Christ we will fall; if we hold on to Him, He will keep us from falling.”
The little word if makes it conditional. After listing seven attributes a Christian must possess, the apostle Peter writes, “For if you do these things, you shall never fall.” (2 Pet. 1:5-10) Those seven attributes are virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Obviously, when these things characterize our life, they will keep us from falling away from the Lord.
Obviously, it is not easy to walk on ice. Try walking down the driveway at your normal stride when it is covered with a sheet of ice, and see what happens. What must you do to avoid falling? Walk cautiously and hold on to something, or someone. Paul wrote, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Cor. 10:12) And how do we do that? Walk cautiously and hold on to someone. Who? Christ and Christian people. And what will happen if we don’t do that? It’s obvious!
Cross-Bearing
There are many hardships that we must endure in life. There are crosses we must bear. Very often they make it even more difficult to be faithful to God. Yet, they do not excuse us from being faithful. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23) Cross-bearing is never an easy thing to do, but a necessary one if we would follow Jesus. The weak-willed, halfhearted, double-minded person cannot bear a cross. Jesus made it very clear that He did not want anyone as a follower who was not willing to commit himself wholly to His cause, with no reservations.
The disciples witnessed the episode of the rich young man, who came running to Jesus seeking eternal life, only to turn away sorrowfully because he was unwilling to pay the price of cross-bearing. (Matt. 19:22) Many of the disciples suffered extreme hardships—being disowned by family, disgraced, enduring cruelty, and often death in bearing their crosses daily. But that was what Jesus expected. Does He expect any less of us?
Thankfully, our crosses may not be as severe and heavy as theirs were, but whatever they are, we must bear them. And He will strengthen us when we do. Rather than removing Paul’s “thorn in the flesh,” the Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Paul then said, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:9-10)
Let us try to have the same attitude in our cross-bearing.
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