Scripture: Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Devotional: Following Jesus isn’t for sissies. It’s not a golden ticket to Heaven, or a way to make your life easier. As we’ve discovered this week, it’s a relentless pursuit.
Jesus Himself characterizes the reality of it even before He walked the long road to Calvary as “taking up your cross.” Let’s be clear. To carry a cross in Jesus’ day meant only one thing: death by crucifixion. To carry your cross was to face the most painful and humiliating means of death human beings could develop.
Jesus is saying that, in order to follow Him, you must die to self. He would reiterate this in Matthew 16:25-26: “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
Dying to self is painful. It’s self-sacrificing. It’s an absolute surrender to God. And it’s a necessary willingness in order to follow Jesus. But it comes with the most glorious of results — eternal life, peace beyond comprehension, and intimacy with the God who created you and is relentlessly devoted to you.
Reflect:
- In what ways have you found success in denying yourself, taking up your cross and following Jesus?