This posting will be a little different than the others. Rather than me explain some of these things, I would encourage you to go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to help you to understand what He means when He said you should take up your cross.
Look up the verses mentioned below, read them, then prayerfully consider them. Give Jesus some time to help you get a grip on not just what the verse says, but what it means for you, today.
Read: Matthew 10:38; Matthew 16:24-25; Mark 8:34-35; Mark 10:21; Luke 14:27
What is Jesus saying in these verses? Is it possible He wants us to recognize, accept, and bear the cost in dealing personally with our sin? Is He saying anything about our flesh? (Please keep in mind that when we're speaking of the flesh, we're not talking about our bodies. God isn't angry at our bodies. If He's angry at us or others, He's angry at the person not the physical body.) In these verses I believe Jesus is talking about all these things, including the destruction of our flesh.
If the cross in Christ's life dealt with sin, then certainly our cross must deal with sin also.
A.W. Tozer said: “In the way of obedience stands the cross, and we take the cross when we enter that way.”
Do you agree or disagree with Tozer’s statement? Why, or why not?
Re-Read: Matthew 10:38
Meditate on this for a little while. Can you see how Christ expects the cross to be central in our life? How could it be otherwise? God dealt radically with sin by offering up His only begotten Son. It's unthinkable to say: "Father, thank you for laying the sin of the world on Your Son, but please don't talk to me about sin in my life. I just want to have the joy of following You."
Re-Read: Luke 14:27
There's really no "wiggle room" here, is there? Either we take up our cross or it's impossible to be His disciple. Does this sound like an absolute? It should because it is. He's the Master, we're the servants. He sets the boundaries, we honor them. Either that or we have no right to call Him Lord.
Again, God dealt with sin radically. How could we do any less? We must realize that the cross means death to this flesh. Our flesh is no happier about it than Jesus was. But just as Jesus took up His cross, so must we take up ours.
Finally, read through Romans chapters 5-8 several times. Ask the Lord to help you to see what the Holy Spirit is saying through Paul in these chapters regarding our flesh. And if you feel led by Him to make changes in your life, then by all means make those changes.
Maranatha!