take up your cross

What does it mean to take up your cross and follow Jesus? It is clearly obvious that this is an important action to take, and that it is one that we should be very comfortable with, as it is required daily. Although this is how it should be, it is not. I know I wake up most mornings and instead of reaching to my night stand and picking up that cross and following the Father I hit the snooze button and continue to sleep. That is not only literal. Seriously, I hit the real snooze button too, but that is not what I mean. I clearly intend to say that I keep on sleeping and not walking with Jesus. Yes, it is a painfully cheesy analogy.

Okay, vent time: Christians are called to take up their cross and follow Jesus, denying their selfish ambitions, sinful nature, all that heinous stuff. So, as a Christian, does that not mean that we are called to not go out and get drunk as a community? Are we supposed to not have sex?

Should we go out as a group of Christians with the intention of getting drunk and not rebuke each other when we are in the process of that sin?

Absolutely not! We are called as Christian brothers and sisters to rebuke even in situations that may be out of our precious little comfort zones. That is part of being a good Christian family.

Guh. Too much distraction to finish this thought.