Cross-bearing is a phrase that our Lord used for emphasis: “If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23; see also Matt. 10:38; Mark 8:34). The cross was the torturous and shameful punishment used infamously by the Romans and other ancient peoples. And when our Lord speaks of bearing the cross, it refers to the insults, afflictions, adversities, evils, and troubles that human nature greatly abhors because of its instinct for self-preservation.

But according to God’s hidden providence, these things are part of God’s plan for the believer and bring him spiritual benefit. New Testament writers speak about “taking up” and “carrying” the cross. These metaphorical expressions are taken from the Roman custom of having the condemned carry the cross on his shoulders to the place of punishment and having his hands tied back onto the cross (see John 19:17; 21:18).

Cross-bearing involves patiently and even joyously bearing the reproaches, troubles, setbacks, injuries, persecutions, afflictions, and all sorts of evil decreed by God to test the faith of believers or to perfect their sanctification (1 Peter 2:15; 3:17).

But according to God’s hidden providence, these things are part of God’s plan for the believer and bring him spiritual benefit.

During the early days of Christianity and in accordance with His wisdom, it pleased God to transform His church into a more spiritual form. He detached them from carnal things by means of the reproaches and deep afflictions that He had destined for them to suffer. In this way, He circumcised, as it were, the new people He was forming. God was forming a spiritual nation that in the desert of this world would feed and be nourished only by the celestial manna—a distinct society that would live by faith and hope alone. He is still doing this today.

Along with intermittent periods of public persecution, the common miseries and calamities that constantly accompany the human condition in this sad life obligate each of us (some more, some less) to bear and to endure with great patience various evils and to submit ourselves in all things to the will of God in the hope of the future glory.

God was forming a spiritual nation that in the desert of this world would feed and be nourished only by the celestial manna.

 It is a fact that Christians are not exempt from evils, setbacks, and troubles. But often, it seems that God presses His own (who live by faith in Christ) harder and drills them even more rigorously to test their faith and hope and to bring to perfection their sanctification, which consists in the mortification of the flesh.

Believers are less attentive to putting the flesh to death while everything is prospering with them. So through the means of suffering, God often purifies and perfects His people by subduing their carnal affections. First Peter 4:1 is worthy of careful consideration: “The one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin.”

This virtue of cross-bearing is called endurance in other passages: “If we endure, then we will also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:12; see also Heb. 10:36). It consists not only in bearing and suffering trouble without grumbling but in taking it up with joy and enduring it gladly. This is implied in the idea of “taking up” your cross. The Romans forced the condemned to bear his cross, and forcibly tied his hands to it. But in the spiritual life, something more is required of you.

 It is a fact that Christians are not exempt from evils, setbacks, and troubles.

When you see the cross that the will of the Lord has destined for you to bear, you must gladly take it on yourself, imitating the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. For no one ceases from sin except the one who has suffered in the flesh (1 Peter 4:1). In this way, you will bring glory to God in bearing your cross. Endurance is a necessary quality for the entire human race. And for the people of Christ, bearing the cross with joy is an outstanding virtue and a true ornament. Such is the character that God loves to see in His people: a godly and calm soul that submits to Him in the most difficult and painful situations of human life with great humility. A person who never abandons his affection for God, zeal for His glory, or trust placed in God’s grace, even amid great adversities. The grace of Christian endurance preserves your serenity and tranquility of mind in the midst of the stormy seas and keeps you from blurting out any absurdities or murmurings against God. This kind of virtue protects you even as the winds rage and the tempests roar; it is a virtue that almost overcomes the human condition.

This article was adapted from Campegius Vitringa’s The Spiritual Life.