“On him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus” (Luke 23:26)  

When Simon carried the cross, it was a picture of the Church carrying on the work of Christ. No Christian is exempted from, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Jesus didn’t suffer to exclude you from suffering. He bore a cross, not so you could escape it, but so you could endure it. Christ exempts you from sin, but not from sorrow. Remember that, and expect to suffer. 

 When you’re persecuted for having moral standards; when you’re mocked and ridiculed for obeying Christ, remember it’s not your cross, it’s the cross of Christ; and how delightful it is to carry the cross of our Lord Jesus! Your path is marked with the footprints of your Lord. His blood is on the heavy burden, so take up your cross, and follow Him. 

 Don’t forget you bear this cross as yokefellows. “Take My yoke upon you ... My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30). It’s the opinion of some that Simon only carried one end of the cross, and not the whole thing. That’s possible; Christ may have carried the heavier part, against the transverse beam, and Simon may have carried the lighter end. Certainly it is so with you; you carry the light end of the cross, Christ bore the heavier end.

 And remember, even though Simon had to bear the cross for a very little while, it gave him lasting honor. The cross we carry is only for a little while at most, and then we shall receive the crown and the glory. Surely we should love the cross, and, instead of shrinking from it, count it very dear, “for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).