God's friendship has enabled the believer to freely take up the cross, the pattern of Jesus' life, and follow after him, giving self for others. Every time the mention of carrying the cross of Jesus comes up in the Gospel, preacher are tempted to speak about it in a way that today's passage does not suggest. There is a tendency to misinterpret the carrying of one's cross to mean to bear bravely with the ills and misfortunes that have befallen us. Implied too, is the notion that God has given us these suffering as a kind of test to our faith. We are always told, in this line of reasoning, that God never gives us more than we can bear.
Life is tough enough.
Instead, the cross in this passage, is something a person has the freedom to take up or leave behind. Unlike catastrophic illnesses, and tragic losses, for which we have no choice, the Gospel message and its consequences is an offer held out to us. Remember, before we hear the sacrifice involved, we first need to hear the Good News that sets us free to stop focusing on ourselves. Because God has focused on us, we can turn our attention to others, just as Christ did. The preacher has lots of practical responses to this.