On cross-carrying and burden-bearing

"I was reflecting on Luke 14 and intense way Jesus makes demands in this chapter, if one wants to be a disciple. All too often, Christians confuse ordinary suffering with cross-bearing. Your physical pain or suffering may well be your thorn in the flesh, but it’s not ‘your cross to bear’. Cross-bearing as a metaphor for discipleship to Jesus has to do with a deliberately chosen course of life, not something that simply happens to you. The second thing to be said about cross-bearing is that Jesus does not call us to bear his cross, rather he talks about picking up our own crosses, and carrying them."

- Ben Witherington