Miyamoto Musashi lived from 1584-1645 and is considered one of, if not the greatest, Samurai warrior of all time. In his book, The Book of Five Rings, he writes of the Way of the warrior, which encompasses the attitude, philosophy, and martial tactics a warrior must possess. In his book he writes that “the way of the warrior is the resolute acceptance of death.”
We can all plainly see the benefit of possessing this attitude. On the battlefield, when you are called to fight for your Lord, you must be willing to lay down your life for Him. You cannot be distracted by the thought of being slain by your enemy. You must give your all without a second thought. This is an attitude that perhaps only our military men can fully appreciate.
Christians know that this idea was promoted 1500 years earlier by Jesus, as He taught His disciples. Within the Gospel accounts we have this statement recorded five times in various ways, such as in Matthew 16:24: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” What does it mean when Jesus asks us to take up our cross? Historically speaking, it was common for individuals sentenced to crucifixion to be seen carrying their own crosses to the place where they would be executed. It was the equivalent of making someone dig their own grave.
Well, why would Jesus tell us that, if we want to follow Him, we need to carry our own cross? Because as the warrior resolutely accepts his own fate, so should we. Christians of the early church often were signing their own death certificate by committing their lives to Christ. Every moment of every day they had to be prepared to die, and many did for the cause of Christ.
Though the life of a New Testament Christian in the United States is relatively soft in comparison to the Christians of the early church, this attitude of carrying our own cross must still be kept. We may never have the privilege of glorifying God with our deaths, but we must be prepared in case we do. And even if our sacrifice may never be as great, whatever we must sacrifice along the way will be much easier with this mindset. If we have the courage to carry our own cross, all other trials will pale in comparison. For those who endure, Christ has promised us a home with Him; “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Rev. 3:21, NAS).