Matthew 16:24

Matthew 16:24
Jesus has just explained to His apostles that in order for Him to fulfill His mission as the Messiah He must lay down His life. Therefore, it naturally follows that a disciple of Jesus must also lay down his life. We often spend an extraordinary amount of time emphasizing all the things that one must do to be saved. We talk about belief, confessing Jesus, repentance, and baptism, but it is rare for us to spend very must time talking about “denying self and taking up the cross.” Notice the words, “If anyone would come after Me…” In other words, no one can follow Jesus without meeting these requirements. We can be religious, moral, and church-going, but that alone does not mean we have denied ourselves, have taken up the cross, and are following Him.To deny ourselves implies that we lose sight of our own desires and ambitions. We must live in this world, we must work to provide a living for our families and ourselves, and we must socially interact with the society around us. But we cannot make our goals the focus of our life. It may seem to be a fine line that we walk, living in the world but not serving the world, but each person knows the difference by what drives him and by how he gives himself to the Lord’s cause. Service to God is either casual, borne out of convenience, or it is the number one priority of our life.

Taking up the “cross” takes a disciple’s service to the next level. The cross was a symbol of one of the most horrible deaths one could suffer. Though we may not ever literally hang on a cross, service to the Lord demands that we make painful choices in our lives. Bearing the cross is not seen in times of ease, it is seen when our flesh does not want to do what we know we must do if we will please Him. There are times when I do not want to serve my brother or my neighbor. There are times I do not want to pray. There are times when I want to put me first and neglect the Lord. Those are the times especially when self must be crucified. We are often so accustomed to living as we please, we forget that if we want to “come after Him,” we must crucify what our flesh desires. Only then are we prepared to “follow Him.”
Berry Kercheville