Luke 9:23-24
Then He said to them: " If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." For whoever wants to save his life will loose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
To follow Jesus requires self-denial, complete dedication and willing obedience. Luke emphasises continued action, and "daily" in this contest.
A lot of as Christians are willing to pay a high price for anything or something we value. It is no surprise that Jesus should demand this much commitment from us His followers. There are at least three conditions that must be met by us who want to follow Jesus. We must be willing to deny our self, to take up our crosses, and to give up our lives. Now anything else is superficial lip service and not acceptable.
As Christians we follow Jesus Christ by imitating His life and obeying His commands. To take up the cross means denying our selfish desires. Following Christ comes with a very costly price, but in the long run it is well worth the pain and effort. Why? Because He said, "whoever loses his life for me will save it and this is a promise and a guarantee."
He also promises us that He will never leave us nor forsake us and will let anything happen to us for as long us we bear our cross daily in obedience and in faith without staggering at His word in unbelief. I see and a lot of Christians in the church who are prepared and willing to do all sorts of things at extremely high cost sometimes even at the cost of their lives without any promises or guarantee of eternal blissful life. So why then do we find it so difficult to bear our crosses daily? Is it because we too weak to the "Flesh"? Or is it just pure ignorance - spiritual darkness?
My personal experience is when we are in love with Jesus, denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily to follow Him becomes a matter of highest priority in our lives. And we are prepared to risk everything and anything even death because we know and have our eyes fixed on something far more worthwhile - living with Him in eternity! I don't know about you however for me, nothing in this world can compensate for the loss of my eternal life with my Father.
Reflections:
As Christians and Christ followers our lives on this earth is not to be used for our own pleasure but to spend it serving God and His children.
Power verses:
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.--Luke 14:26
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.--Mark 8:35
The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.--John 12:25
2011 By Enyonam Gbekle. All rights reserved.
Then He said to them: " If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." For whoever wants to save his life will loose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
To follow Jesus requires self-denial, complete dedication and willing obedience. Luke emphasises continued action, and "daily" in this contest.
A lot of as Christians are willing to pay a high price for anything or something we value. It is no surprise that Jesus should demand this much commitment from us His followers. There are at least three conditions that must be met by us who want to follow Jesus. We must be willing to deny our self, to take up our crosses, and to give up our lives. Now anything else is superficial lip service and not acceptable.
As Christians we follow Jesus Christ by imitating His life and obeying His commands. To take up the cross means denying our selfish desires. Following Christ comes with a very costly price, but in the long run it is well worth the pain and effort. Why? Because He said, "whoever loses his life for me will save it and this is a promise and a guarantee."
He also promises us that He will never leave us nor forsake us and will let anything happen to us for as long us we bear our cross daily in obedience and in faith without staggering at His word in unbelief. I see and a lot of Christians in the church who are prepared and willing to do all sorts of things at extremely high cost sometimes even at the cost of their lives without any promises or guarantee of eternal blissful life. So why then do we find it so difficult to bear our crosses daily? Is it because we too weak to the "Flesh"? Or is it just pure ignorance - spiritual darkness?
My personal experience is when we are in love with Jesus, denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily to follow Him becomes a matter of highest priority in our lives. And we are prepared to risk everything and anything even death because we know and have our eyes fixed on something far more worthwhile - living with Him in eternity! I don't know about you however for me, nothing in this world can compensate for the loss of my eternal life with my Father.
Reflections:
As Christians and Christ followers our lives on this earth is not to be used for our own pleasure but to spend it serving God and His children.
Power verses:
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.--Luke 14:26
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.--Mark 8:35
The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.--John 12:25
2011 By Enyonam Gbekle. All rights reserved.
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