And he said to all, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:23–26 (RSV)
"We all have our crosses to bear," goes the platitude quoted about some trial a person experiences. It implies that it is a passing event, and you will soon return to everyday life.
It also has nothing to do with what Jesus is teaching His disciples. The believer takes up his cross daily and follows Jesus. This cross is not a thing we endure for a time, then go on with our lives. Cross-bearing is our life in Christ. It begins with denying ourselves. We are no longer the center of our private universe.
Self-denial is the opposite of the choice Adam and Eve made in the Garden. They chose to take the fruit so they could be God. The core of sin is the self turned in on the self. The more we turn ourselves in, the less and less there is of our true self. We become enslaved to the very thing that is killing us, our sin.
We deny ourselves so we may die daily on the cross. Just as Jesus suffered for the sin of the world, dying to set us free from ourselves, so we will surrender that pretense of life. We can only begin to live unless we have been crucified with our Lord so that we may be raised with Him.
What does the world matter to us if we do not have Jesus? There is nothing of this world that will not slip from our dying fingers. The billionaire will have nothing more than the pauper in the grave. Life, eternal life, is found in Jesus only.
We die to ourselves each day so that we may follow Jesus. It is in Him, and Him alone, do we find the life this world cannot give.