Did you pick up your cross this morning?

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23

The Vertical Piece

At the beginning of every term at camp one of our captains picks up a large log over his shoulder and carries it into the assembly area planting it in the ground.  Then he goes to the mic and tells us that it is the vertical piece of the cross, which represents right relationship with God.  This is exactly the image I have in my head for how our day should begin.  Picking up our cross daily means beginning each day by seeking right relationship with our Heavenly Father.  Every morning we must plant that vertical piece in the ground.  Oswald Chambers says it like this, "Get rightly related to God first, maintain that as the greatest care of your life." Submit yourself, and the day ahead, to God.

The Horizontal Piece

The next captain picks up a smaller log over her shoulder and walks in to place it on the vertical piece.  She says, "the horizontal piece of the cross represents our relationships with others."  The horizontal piece rests upon the vertical piece, just as...
...our relationships with others rest upon our relationship with God.  We cannot maintain healthy relationships with anyone, be they parents, brothers, sisters, or friends, unless we are in right relationship with God first.  This is why before you interact with anybody else every morning, it is best to first get your heart right with God.  Plant that vertical piece in the ground, then you're ready to engage the world around you with a godly perspective, loving others as yourself.

The Tennis Shoes

The next captain walks in carrying a pair of tennis shoes which he wraps over the horizontal piece of the cross.  He says, "The tennis shoes represent our daily walk with Christ."  Truly, you cannot walk with Christ, following him, unless you deny yourself and pick up your cross daily.  Have you planted your vertical piece today?  Is your horizontal piece in place, resting upon the vertical piece?  How about the tennis shoes, how is your walk with Christ today?

The Prayer

The last captain walks in and she prays.  Dear God, we submit our lives to you today, our desires and dreams, our plans and ambitions, our joys and cares, all of it is in your hands.  We submit ourselves and our day to you.  You are our Lord.  Fill us today that we might faithfully follow you.  In Christ's name, Amen.