Come Down From That Cross

Jesus was mocked mercilessly as he hung on the cross, people shouting for him to come down if, indeed, he was who He said He was. They got it completely backward. It was because Jesus was who He said He was that He stayed on the cross. In a similar way, we will be told--maybe even by people who love us--to come down from our crosses as well. While this takes careful discernment, the mere presence of suffering or persecution doesn't automatically mean that following God means to sidestep what hurts. We'll look at a doctor's choice, the challenge of Luke 9:23, and the application of 2 Timothy 4:5 to consider what it means for us to face our own crosses.