Lance Christopher: Blog

"Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus." Luke 23:26

Jesus, the One who commanded His followers to take up their cross and follow Him, was so torn from the horrors of His scourging that He could not continue to carry His own cross.

Let that sink in for a moment...

The Almighty God allowed Himself to be so abused for you and me that the weight of the cross became too much for Him.

Jesus needed help.

The Roman soldiers pulled a man from the crowd, Simon a Cyrenian, from Africa.

Then they roughly laid the cross, already soaked with Jesus' blood, on his back.

Simon had to carry Jesus' cross!

...And I complain about mine :-(

Jesus still had to make the sacrifice, for the cross was still His, yet the lessons in this agonizingly weak moment are central to the Christian walk.

1) If Jesus needed help to carry His cross, how foolish and proud must I be to believe that I can carry my cross alone.

2) At times, the cross WILL be too heavy for me. This is the very reason that the Word directs me to walk with others in Christian community, bearing one another's burdens.

3) Whatever my cross, I need to realize that my time of weakness and need is an opportunity for someone else's strength and abundance to become an eternal reward for them.

It is important to recognize that God the Father provided the help that Jesus received - He was really the source.

God loves to partner with people like you and me in blessing others, but we must not look to people first!

Therefore, if your cross has fallen from your back and you just can't go on, make sure you cry out to God before you do anything else.

BEFORE all else fails... PRAY!

Honestly pour out you heart to Him.

Throw out your preconceived idea about how the help will come.

Then ask others to pray for you and your help will arrive!

Think about it... God brought Simon all the way from Africa to Israel just to carry someone else's cross for a little while.

Pretty cool, huh?

God's help for you will likely come in a surprising package.

Remember, however, that it is still your cross.

Thank God for His help, but never lose sight of the fact that we take up our cross in order to die to selfishness.

Then, be prayerfully open for opportunities to help someone else carry their cross.

You might just find that God will give you even more strength as you joyfully serve!

Your brother,

Lance