April 5, Morning

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"On him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus." — Luke 23:26 · KJV

We see in Simon's carrying the cross a picture of the work of the Church throughout all generations; she is the cross-bearer after Jesus. Mark, then, Christian: Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering. He bears a cross, not that you may escape it, but that you may endure it. Christ exempts you from sin, but not from sorrow. Remember that, and expect to suffer. But let us comfort ourselves with this thought, that in our case, as in Simon's, it is not our cross, but Christ's cross that we carry. When you are molested for your godliness, when your faith brings the trial of cruel mockings on you, then remember it is not your cross, it is Christ's cross; and how delightful it is to carry the cross of our Lord Jesus! You carry the cross after Him; you have blessed company; your path is marked with the footprints of your Lord. The mark of His blood-red shoulder is on that heavy burden. It is His cross, and He goes before you as a shepherd goes before his sheep. Take up your cross daily, and follow Him. Do not forget, also, that you bear this cross in partnership. Some think Simon carried only one end of the cross, not the whole of it; that is quite possible — Christ may have carried the heavier part, against the transverse beam, and Simon the lighter end. Certainly it is so with you: you carry only the light end of the cross, for Christ bore the heavier. And remember, though Simon had to bear the cross only a little while, it gave him lasting honor; even so, the cross we carry is only for a little while at most, and then we shall receive the crown, the glory. Surely we should love the cross, and, instead of shrinking from it, count it very dear, when it works out for us "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."