Luke
9:23-24 (NASB)
And
He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must
deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the
one who will save it.”
Are there any
other two verses more provoking than these two in the entire Bible? You claim to be a follower of Christ? Then are you denying yourself and are you
taking up your cross daily?
What does Jesus
mean by “he must (note the emphasis on ‘must’) deny himself”. To deny is to forget or lose sight of your
own interests. You make your decisions
based on “what would Jesus do?” You put
others first before yourself (Philippians 2:3-4). You don’t brag about yourself, you give the
Lord credit for your accomplishments.
You don’t succumb to lustful, selfish desires. I have in my Bible a written cross-reference
to Mark 10:45, where Jesus stated His purpose---not to be served but to
serve. He expects his followers to have
the same attitude and actions.
What does Jesus
mean by taking up your cross daily? What
is your cross? I like what I heard from
someone one time that it is not right to say that whatever burden you are
carrying in your life is your cross.
Such thinking is self-pity and self-pity is pride. Your cross represents the same thing as what
the actual cross meant to Jesus. The
cross of Jesus represents His willingness to die for the sins of the
world. Your cross is your willingness to
die to your own selfish desires and instead submit to Christ. Jesus elaborated on this truth in verse 24
when He said that your willingness to lose your life (your selfish desires) for
His sake will actually save your life from the sins that a selfish life
produces.
To follow Jesus
means to be fully committed to Him. How
committed are you? Are you willing to
give up relationships if they are adversely affecting your ability to follow
Christ? Are you willing to stand up for
Christ if it means alienating family and friends? Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means
giving up something that you thought meant so much to you (e.g. a job, a dream,
a lifestyle, a pursuit)?
Note that Jesus
starts His words with “If…….” The choice
or decision to follow Him is strictly voluntary, He is not forcing you nor can
anyone else force you to follow Him. One
of my favorite pastors, Adrian Rogers, who preached and taught in alliteration,
described this verse as
1. A call to consider
2. Conditions to meet
3. A choice to make
What is your choice today?
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