Jesus did tell us to take up our cross and follow him. He did sacrifice himself for us, and that is the basis of our empowerment to take up our own cross. We love him because he first loved us.
However, there is a cross that each has to carry. I read a sermon with a similar theme by an old baptist preacher (George Truitt?) about burdens. Some we cast on him, some we carry for other or they for us, and some we must carry ourselves.
"You've got to walk that lonesome valley
You've got to walk it by yourself
Oh, nobody else can walk it for you
You've got to walk it by yourself
"
"...there is a cross that each has to carry. I read a sermon with a similar theme by an old baptist preacher (George Truitt?) about burdens. Some we cast on him, some we carry for other or they for us, and some we must carry ourselves."
So true. It seems that the best real-life examples of this are those who serve in the armed forces, especially those who see combat. The others in your unit are there to fight with you, not for you! But yet there are those times, when you are wounded and ineffective, that the others literally do fight for you.
I've seen many testimonies of those who served in combat during WW2, and they almost all say--to a man--that the real reason they fought and killed was for the guy standing next to them. It wasn't heroism or patriotism that motivated them, it was the friendships they had with the men in their own unit that kept them going.
So it is with Jesus. It wasn't just for his own glorification that He went to the cross; it was out of love for us, and His desire to have us with Him for all eternity.
One thing Jesus won't do is come down to earth and drag your body to the cross and nail you there. He asks us to do that to ourselves! There is a LOT that Jesus does do for us, but there are some things that we ourselves are being held responsible for.