What Does It Mean To Carry Your Cross? A Daily Challenge For Men Of Faith
If you’ve spent time around church or read the Bible, you’ve probably heard the phrase “carry your cross.” It comes from Luke 9:23, where Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” But what does it actually mean? How do men today apply this in a world full of comfort, distraction, and self-promotion?
At The Gentleman Mindset, we explore what it means to live with purpose and strength—not just physically, but spiritually. And understanding the meaning of carrying your cross is essential for any man serious about living a life of faith.
Table of Contents
A Call to Surrender
When Jesus talked about carrying a cross, He wasn’t referring to a symbolic burden or temporary problem. In His time, the cross was a method of execution—a sign of suffering, shame, and death. So when He called His followers to “take up their cross,” He was calling them to lay down their lives completely.
Luke 14 goes even deeper, where Jesus warns that anyone who is not willing to give up everything cannot be His disciple. That’s a heavy message—but also one filled with meaning. To carry your cross means to surrender your pride, your plans, and even your comfort in order to follow Christ fully.
Choosing Purpose Over Comfort
Modern life teaches us to chase success, pleasure, and comfort. But Jesus flipped that thinking on its head. He said, “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
This doesn’t mean you stop caring about your career or family. It means you stop making yourself the center of your world. You stop holding onto things that don’t last—status, money, popularity—and you live for something greater.
Carrying your cross means you’re willing to face pain and suffering for what’s right. It means standing up for truth, even when it costs you. It means forgiving when it’s hard, serving when you’re tired, and trusting God even when you don’t understand His plan.
Daily Faith, Not Just Sunday Faith
Jesus said to take up your cross daily. That means this isn’t a one-time decision. It’s a daily commitment to live differently—to walk in humility, to love sacrificially, and to follow Christ even when it’s inconvenient.
This is where true strength is tested. Not in how much weight you can lift, but in how much you’re willing to surrender. Not in how much you speak, but in how you live when no one is watching.
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What Does It Mean To Carry Your Cross?
So, what does it mean to carry your cross? It means choosing faith over fear. It means living with purpose instead of pride. It means being willing to lose the life the world offers in order to find the one God designed for you.
If you try to save your life, you may miss what matters. But whoever loses it for the sake of Christ will find something greater—true life, lasting peace, and eternal purpose.
The Gentleman Mindset focuses on masculinity – and the core values of fitness, wisdom, faith, wealth, and lifestyle. Follow us on social media for more lessons on how to thrive as a modern man.
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