“…Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Mark 8:34. Do you fully understand what Jesus said? Today we’ve sanitized the cross to the point that we forget the pain and sacrifice involved in crucifixion. In the days when Jesus walked among us the cross was a common means of execution. Everyone had seen the agony of those condemned to suffer death on the cross, so when Jesus told the people they needed to take up their crosses He was telling them of the sacrifice they would have to make in order to follow Him. They knew the sacrifice would not be easy. Some who listened to His words would be put to death for their choice to follow Him, but there would also be other personal costs involved. The listeners were, for the most part, Jews. If they followed Jesus it would mean that at the very least they would be put out of the Temple and their family would reject them. This was a huge sacrifice. When put in perspective, though, Jesus had willingly left Heaven in order to enter His creation to be our atonement for sin. That alone was an incredible sacrifice, but He did this knowing that He would be rejected, abused, and murdered. He made this sacrifice because He loves you and me and He willingly took up the cross for us. Why, then, is it so hard for us to become a living sacrifice for Him.