This episode clarifies that when Jesus commands believers to “take up their cross” in Matthew 16:24, He is not referring to general suffering or persecution but to the rejection of self-centeredness and the submission of one’s will to God. Paul expresses the same truth in Galatians 5:22–24, teaching that those who belong to Christ have crucified their self-willed nature to live under the Spirit’s rule. The author notes that, by nature, people behave like spoiled children expecting God to endorse their desires, treating worship and obedience lightly, and acting as though God owes them something. True cross-bearing, however, means denying ourselves, recognizing our responsibilities to God and His Kingdom, and focusing on what we owe Him not what we presume He owes us.
