“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:27
There is no way to make this “hard saying” softer. However, the context of this saying of Jesus in Luke gives us grounds to think about it in terms of mundane, practical advise for a disciple of Jesus.
What follows verse 27 are two practical-minded examples from Jesus on the wisdom of proper planning. Wouldn’t one who is building a tower look pretty foolish if the planning was so poor that the job couldn’t be completed? A warring king with 10,000 troops ought not assume he can defeat an opponent with 20,000 troops. Both are commonsense examples.
So this passage is at least in part simple “psychological” advise on how to think about discipleship: don’t go into it with unrealistic or false expectations, on preparation or with romantic notions of sailing from one sweet glory to another. You need not search for crosses, but you must not expect to escape them, either. Expect crosses as part of a disciple’s life and prepare for them, at least through daily prayer.
Above all, don’t be surprised by crosses. Having realistic expectations may not make the cross of discipleship any easier, but it surely can’t make it harder.
Please Read Romans 13:8-10 & Luke 14: 25-33, Psalm 112: 1-2,4-5,9
Your Dear Brother in Christ
Mike Williams