As our Savior, Jesus Christ, was being led through the streets of Jerusalem to be crucified, he finally fell under the weight of the cross he was carrying. The Pharisees and Roman soldiers did not wait for the exhausted Jesus to gather his strength, so they called Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross the rest of the way. Simon was a man who passed by. The gospel writers agree that he was forced to carry the cross. Simon did not know why he was chosen to carry the cross. It was a heavy load up a steep hill. Simon did not deserve to carry this cross. He was simply forced to carry an unexpected cross.
Simon is typical of all people. He is just one of many who have been forced to carry a heavy Unexpected Cross. Life is full of unexpected crosses. There are also many who are forced to carry their crosses, and like Simon they do not understand why. All of us, sooner or later, realize that we must carry our own Unexpected Crosses. We’d avoid the charge if we could, but there’s no way out. When we ask why we are given a certain cross to bear, that is not the important question. The important questions are: How will we carry these Unexpected Crosses of life?; What difference will they make in our lives?; Will we find victory in them, or will we be defeated?
Trials in life don’t come when our plans work smoothly. They come when we are forced to bear one of life’s Unexpected Crosses. When it comes to carrying the cross, we have three options. The first is to try to escape. Many try to escape every day, and many of them find escape in suicide. Others try to escape through the use of alcohol and drugs only to slowly destroy their lives. Trying to escape is simply running away from an enemy that sooner or later you have to face.
The second option is the path of defeat. Thousands of people give up in despair when some impediment comes into their lives. When they give up they become bitter and spend many years feeling sorry for themselves and telling others what they would do if they were in better health, or if they had an education, or if they had money. Anyone who pities himself and explains why he can’t succeed is one who has been defeated by his Unexpected Cross.
The third option is to accept life’s Unexpected Crosses as a challenge, an opportunity, or a blessing. Scripture tells us that the Apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh. Pablo did not try to escape. He didn’t sit around feeling sorry for himself and telling others what he would do if he didn’t have it. He didn’t get bitter because God didn’t take it away from him. He overcame and conquered it by finding victory. The victory was that he became a source of power and grace in his life. John Bunyan wanted to preach, then the Unexpected Cross came from him. They put him in jail. Did John wonder what he should do? Did he feel sorry for himself or did he abandon God? John wondered how I can use this Unexpected Cross and find victory. While in prison, John Bunyan wrote “The Pilgrim’s Progress” and accomplished more while he was carrying his cross than during the rest of his life.
We all face great opportunities. We are drawing up a plan that is very important to us. We have a dream that is about to come true. Then a day comes, just as we are about to enter the door of opportunity, when an Unexpected Cross is thrown upon us. When problems come into our lives, they do one of two things. It leaves us narrow and bitter, with less faith in ourselves, in others, and in God. It leaves us with less sympathy and understanding, with few resources to deal with other problems in life; or it leaves us older with a kinder spirit, stronger faith, and sympathetic feelings toward others who are carrying crosses. The difference is not in the cross but in us. The same problem that defeats another can be a source of strength for you.
The true meaning of life is close to the Unexpected Cross. It is this true meaning that gives life its true value. It was Jesus who said that those who wanted to be his disciples must take up his cross and follow him. If Simon of Cyrene had never taken up the cross he was forced to carry, we would never have heard of him. Surely Simon had to look back to carry that Unexpected Cross as the greatest event of his life. The Apostle Paul prayed for the sting in his flesh to be removed, but who knows if the courage, patience, strength and grace that Paul had in prison and enduring persecution did not come from carrying this Unexpected Cross. No doubt John Bunyan prayed, “deliver me from this prison,” but now we see that his Unexpected Cross was his greatest blessing. Jesus prayed, “Father, if it is possible, take this cup from me.” But he did not pass and he was forced to carry his cross. That cross that Jesus has transformed from a sign of shame into a sign of victory. Jesus is now our Savior not in spite of the cross, but because of the cross.
We may never know or understand why we are forced to carry these heavy and unexpected crosses imposed on us until we cross the Narrow Sea. We know our crosses are coming. We know there is a plan and a purpose behind them. We know that the One who holds the earth in the cup of his hand has a heart of love for us. We know that it is in carrying these Unexpected Crosses that the true meaning of life is revealed. Looking at Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith, we can say with the Apostle Paul: “In all these things I am more than conqueror through Him who loved us.”