Carry Our Cross and follow Jesus.

This is the core call of discipleship—a call to surrender, sacrifice, and ultimate glory. It is both a solemn command and a profound invitation.

Here is a poem on taking up the cross.

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The Chosen Yoke

The call is clear, it is not vague; “Deny yourself.”Turn the next page. Forget the path you had in mind, And leave your former hopes behind.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

This cross I’m called to lift and bear Is not a common pain or care. It is the death of my own will, A chosen silence,to be still.

It is the shame the world will give For the surrendered life I’ll live. It is the weight of obedience, My daily,willing penitence.

It is the death of selfish pride, Where my own dreams and desires die. To cleave to Him,though all seems loss, Is to find life upon the cross.

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:25)

This is the path: the Via Dolorosa, Not for a moment,but for the whole course of— A daily choice,to say “Yes” to His, And“No” to the siren song of Self.

So help me, Lord, to not refuse The cross You choose for me to use. Not with resentment,dread, or force, But as my freely chosen course.

For I follow a Savior who walked there first, Who drank the cup and quenched its thirst. He bore the weight I could not hold, A story of love that must be told.

I take it up. I cannot see The end of this road You have for me. But I know You,and so I trust Even this cross,to dust… to dust.

Until the dying’s work is done, And the resurrection’s morn is won. For the way of the cross is the way to the crown, And in losing my life,true life is found.