It has often been the case that Christians have been called people of the way. The idea of our discipleship as a journey is one that occurs frequently. We are a travelling people. The great commission is to 'go'.
One of the other things, to which we often refer, is the call to take up our cross, and so follow in the way of Jesus. It is an important one - and we must not allow familiarity to diminish the impact of the call. As Jeremy Duff points out in Peter's Preaching - "People who walked carrying a cross were on their way to die, for those who were both of low status (a Roman citizen could not be crucified) and convicted of the worst crimes (in Roman eyes, rebellion and treason) were condemned to die in this most horrific of fashions. It was more than just death; it was public humiliation and shame, displaying the victim's powerlessness to all, as they were forced to cooperate in their own execution by walking through the streets, carrying the cross beam on which they would die."
What a challenging picture! What a journey! What a way!
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