Carrying Your Cross is Comforting by Joe La Bianca

Carrying your cross is comforting. What does it mean to carry your cross? I know Christians that incorporate carrying their crosses into their relationship with God. They make being saved a very hard thing, and think that it is God who gives them their crosses. Listen well! God does not give us the cross, the unbelieving enemies of Christ do.
Every time you are persecuted, whether by word or deed, you are carrying your cross. Never blend cross carrying into your relationship with God. God would like nothing better than for your life to be free from persecution. But it won’t because the world hated Jesus and it will hate you too.
God doesn’t persecute us, the world does. Your relationship with the world is one of death. We are the stench of death to the rebellious, but the fragrance of life to those who are being saved. So how is it comfortable to carry your cross? The next time you are verbally or physically harassed by the world, keep in mind that they harassed Jesus too. If they hated the Master, they will hate the servants. You are going through the same thing Jesus did, and this is a source of encouragement.
You are doing something right to gain the ire of the world. But never ever try to be persecuted by being obnoxious. Your beating will be deserved in that case. But if you are preaching the gospel and are persecuted for it, you are blessed.
The gospel is not your church doctrines, or religious ideas. The gospel is simply this: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and on the third day He was raised to life, 1 Corinthians: 15. If a person believes this, they are saved. Keep it simple, and by doing so, keep it understandable. Your message should be free of burdens, unlike the Pharisees. Don’t place any extra burdens on the backs of Christians, the world will do that for us. If you think that being saved is bearing burdens from both God and the world, then this is too much weight for anyone to carry. Being saved is not a burdensome thing as far as God is concerned. And the burdens of hate and persecution that come from the world, God will give us the strength to carry.