Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

April 5– Morning

 by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“They laid the cross on Simon the Cyrene so that he might bear it after Jesus.” 

—Luke 23:26

 

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. Take notice, Christian, that 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 mistreated for living a godly life— when your faith brings the trial of cruel mockings upon you— then remember! It is not your cross; it is Christ’s. And how delightful it is to carry the cross of our Lord Jesus!

Keep in mind that you carry the cross after him. You are in the best of company. Your path is marked with the footprints of your Lord. The mark of his blood-red shoulder is upon that heavy burden. It is his cross, and he goes before you as a shepherd goes before his sheep.

And remember, though Simon had to bear the cross for a very short time, it gave him lasting honor. In the same way the cross we carry is for only a brief moment, and we’ll soon receive the crown of glory. Surely, we should love the cross, and, instead of shrinking away from it, count it very dear. It is not our shame but our glory! [M&E]