And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
Luke 9:23-25
Henry Lyte experienced a difficult childhood. When he was still a young boy, his father deserted the family. Not long afterward, his mother died, leaving him to grow up in a boarding school. At the age of twenty-three, Lyte trusted Christ as his Savior and soon entered the ministry. Throughout his life, he struggled with poor health, particularly respiratory problems that sometimes made it difficult for him to preach. Lyte died at just fifty-four years of age, but during his ministry he wrote a number of hymns that are still sung today. One of them was “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken”:
Jesus, I my cross have taken, all to leave and follow Thee.
Destitute, despised, forsaken, Thou from hence my all shall be.
Perish every fond ambition, all I’ve sought or hoped or known.
Yet how rich is my condition! God and heaven are still mine own.
Let the world despise and leave me, they have left my Savior, too.
Human hearts and looks deceive me; Thou art not, like them, untrue.
And while Thou shalt smile upon me, God of wisdom, love and might,
Foes may hate and friends disown me, show Thy face and all is bright.
We should not expect the path of following Jesus to be easy when the path Jesus walked was excruciating. The cost of discipleship and cross-bearing is high. Even during Jesus’ ministry there were people unwilling to pay the cost. “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?” (John 6:66-67). We must never shrink back because of opposition, hardship, or persecution, but instead follow Jesus faithfully.
