What does 'take up your cross' mean?

It means to let the grasping, self-centered self die daily so a truer life in Christ can rise (Luke 9:23). The cross meant the end of the old life; taking it up is dying to self, not seeking misery.

Does taking up your cross mean God wants me to suffer?

No. Jesus is not asking you to hate your life or chase pain. He is inviting you to lose a cramped, self-protecting life in order to find the fuller life he gives (Matthew 16:25). Any cost serves that gift.

Because dying to self is not done once. Each day brings fresh choices to trust him over fear and love over self. 'Daily' also means each morning is a new start, with grace already waiting.

Following Jesus

What Does 'Take Up Your Cross Daily' Mean?

“Take up your cross” is not a call to seek out suffering or to hate your life. In Jesus’s day the cross meant one thing: the end of the old self on the way to something new. To take it up daily is to let your grasping, fearful self die a little each day so that a freer, truer life in him can rise. Jesus promises that whoever loses their life for his sake will actually find it. It is not a demand to be miserable; it is an invitation into real life.

What Jesus said

“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.”

Luke 9:23

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Matthew 16:24-26

Read the promise inside the command. Losing your life for his sake is how you find it. The cross is not the goal; life on the far side of it is. Jesus asks nothing of you that he did not first carry himself.

What this looks like

It rarely looks dramatic. It looks like choosing the harder honest thing over the easy dishonest one. Forgiving when you would rather nurse the wound. Serving when no one will notice. Letting go of a grudge, a habit, or an ambition that has quietly become your master. Each is a small dying, and each opens into a small resurrection, a little more freedom, a little more of the person God made you to be.

This is not self-punishment, and God is not asking you to despise yourself. He is inviting you to trade a cramped, self-protecting life for the wide, unafraid life of someone who is deeply loved.

Frequently asked questions

What does 'take up your cross' mean?: It means to let the grasping, self-centered self die daily so a truer life in Christ can rise (Luke 9:23). The cross meant the end of the old life; taking it up is dying to self, not seeking misery.
Does taking up your cross mean God wants me to suffer?: No. Jesus is not asking you to hate your life or chase pain. He is inviting you to lose a cramped, self-protecting life in order to find the fuller life he gives (Matthew 16:25). Any cost serves that gift.
Why 'daily'?: Because dying to self is not done once. Each day brings fresh choices to trust him over fear and love over self. 'Daily' also means each morning is a new start, with grace already waiting.

Where to go next. You do not have to have it all figured out. Begin following Jesus → · The gospel → · Meet Jesus → · Read Mark 1 →

✝

He is still saying, follow me

Following Jesus does not begin with getting your life in order. It begins with him, and with a yes as small as a mustard seed. He walked toward fishermen and tax collectors and simply said, “follow me,” and their whole lives turned on that word. He says it still, to you, today. You do not have to be worthy first. You only have to come, and keep coming, and let him do the rest.

I want to follow Jesus Read the Gospel of Mark Ask for prayer

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Keep followingFollowing Jesus every day Counting the cost The cost of following When it's hard