“If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34 CEV)
The cross represents suffering, sacrifice, and submission. Christ died on the cross in acceptance of the Divine will. His resurrection led to our salvation. As Christians, we are taught to take up our cross and follow Him. Most of us view our weaknesses and burdens as personal crosses. We drag them behind us awkwardly. We don’t know how these heavy encumbrances could be useful in our walk of faith.
After a leg injury, crutches can be helpful during your recovery. However, crutches can also be a drag, if you don’t know how to use them properly. It helps to have someone with experience show you the proper technique of using crutches. You want to put your weak leg behind you and learn to put weight on the crutches. This allows you to move forward more efficiently.
Once you learn to merge your personal weaknesses with the cross, you can learn to use it like a crutch to move forward. Let’s say you have a particular cross to bear right now. Are you dragging it behind you by still depending on your injured appendage to get you where you want to go? Or can you offer up your suffering to Christ and use the cross as a pivot to move forward?
I am not dragging my leg right now, but I am testing my balance. I do ask for help and thankfully I do receive enough to convince me that asking for help works.
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