God is far above us, as the heavens are higher than the earth (Isa. 55:9). His nature is superior to ours. No man can plumb the depths of His wisdom. His judgments are unsearchable and His ways past finding out (Rom. 11:33). God is not man (Num. 23:19). Though much biblical imagery assigns Him bodily parts, we know that these are used in an accommodative way, since God is spirit (John 4:24). He does not have a physical body that gets sick or tired. He does not change (Mal. 3:6; James 1:17). He does not get old, for He is beyond time. He inhabits eternity (Isa. 57:15); therefore, a thousand years is as one day to Him (2 Pet. 3:8). A consideration of the vast universe He has created and placed man in shows how incomprehensibly great He really is (Psa. 19:1-4; Rom. 1:20).

But though He is so far above us, He is still intensely interested in us. The Bible reveals that He is a loving heavenly Father who gives us life, breath, and all things (Mt. 6:9-11; Acts 17:25). The fact that He makes His sun to rise on everyone, the evil and the good, and sends rain on all, the just and the unjust (Mt. 5:45), testifies that He is a good God who fills our lives with blessings that make us glad (Acts 14:17).

He not only sustains the world that declares His glory day by day, but He also has communicated with man throughout history by special revelation from the Holy Spirit, available to us today through the medium of the sacred scriptures (2 Pet. 1:20-21; 2 Tim. 3:16). He has also intervened miraculously during the composition of the Bible to confirm that what was being communicated was truly from Him (Heb. 2:2-4; 1 Cor. 12-14). The climactic point of His personal involvement with man was the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God: God empathetically participating in the human condition to the point of death (John 1:14; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 2:14-17).

God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). His invitation is to all that they will call upon Him through baptism to wash their sins away in the blood of Christ (Acts 2:21, 38; 22:16; Rev. 1:5; 22:17). Christ delays His coming so that more may repent (2 Pet. 3:9). God is attentive to the prayers of those who obey Him (1 Pet. 3:12). He will even forgive sins when one who is in Christ prays with genuine penitence for forgiveness (1 John 1:9; 5:14). In fact, when one sinner repents the angels that dwell in His presence experience His joy (Luke 15:10).

The God that created the world in which you live (Acts 17:24), and the placed your spirit in the wonderful body you inhabit (Psa. 139:14; Eccl. 12:7; Heb. 12:9), wants to be with you for eternity. He desires fellowship with you so badly that He sent His own Son to die for you to make it possible (Rom. 5:8; 1 John 1:3). But you must make the choice in how you will respond to His love (John 15:9-10). Will you obey Him to eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9), or will all His efforts toward you be in vain because of your refusal to follow Him (2 Cor. 6:1-2)?

-Mark Day

In Matthew 16:24, Jesus told his disciples, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” It is absolutely essential for a man to take up his cross if he will be a follower of Jesus; Jesus expressed the other side of this necessity, by stating in Matthew 10:38, “…he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.”

What, then, does it mean to take up the cross? From John 19:17, we learn that part of the punishment for a man who was sentenced to crucifixion was to carry the cross upon which he would be nailed to the place of his execution. Matthew 27:31-32 shows that at some point during the trek Simon of Cyrene was compelled to bear the cross of Christ, Jesus evidently buckling physically under the burdensome beams that would be instrumental in His death. Thus, to “take up his cross” is an expression by which our Lord meant bearing whatever burden and shame is involved in a man following Him. Discomfort and disgrace are an inherent part of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, an oft-forgotten truth among some Christians (1 Pet. 4:12).

Have you had to bear some burdens because of your commitment to Christ? Perhaps you have been derided for your beliefs. Perhaps your foes are of your own household (Mt. 10:36; Jn. 7:1-5). Remember how Christ was mocked and beaten (Mk. 15:20; Lk. 22:64). Strive to bear persecution patiently in following the example of our beloved Lord (1 Pet. 2:20-24).

Have persecutions been absent in your life? While we should not seek out persecution, we should recognize that if we stand up for Christ, some maltreatment will come our way from time to time. 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Suffering for the sake of suffering is not a righteous endeavor, but living godly and suffering because one is a Christian is a reason to glorify God (1 Peter 4:14-16). Remember Luke’s account of Christ’s cross-bearing comment includes the word “daily” (Lk. 9:23). If I stand up for Christ on Sunday, but not during the week at where I work or attend school, then my everyday life does not radiate the light of Christ (Mt. 5:16). If all we do in word or deed is done in the name of Christ (Col. 3:17), then some are bound to notice.

Is it worth it to take up the cross and suffer for Christ? Definitely. Paul, a persecuted apostle, by inspiration wrote, “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us,” (2 Tim. 2:12). This apostle reckoned himself “crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20), and recognized that suffering for Christ is a sign of salvation, “And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:28-29). So take up your cross, and I’ll take up mine, knowing that if we give our earthly lives to serving Christ, we shall find abundant life here and in the hereafter (Mt. 16:25).

-Mark Day