Tag: Take up your cross

Based on the Love God Greatly Study, Lent: A Season of Drawing Closer to God!

Scripture: Matthew 6:16-18; Mark 8:31-38 / SOAP: Mark 8:34-35

Then Jesus called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and because of the gospel will save it.

Mark 8:34-35 NET

Following Christ is a choice, however, the choice comes with three distinct demands that we must be aware of. Jesus makes the demands known, not only to His present disciples but to the crowd of people who had gathered. Jesus opens His circle of disciples by extending an invitation to the crowd, saying: “If anyone wants to be my followers, he must …” Whether we are new followers of Christ or seasoned disciples, Jesus wants us to understand that our choice to follow Him comes with costs. Mark records three in chapter eight

• Deny himself (refuse rights and privileges that get in the way of God’s kingdom)
  • The commentary, gotquestions.org explains the demand of “denying oneself” like this: “Jesus spoke repeatedly to His disciples about taking up their cross (an instrument of death) and following Him. He made it clear that if any would follow Him, they must deny themselves, which means giving up their lives—spiritually, symbolically, and even physically, if necessary. This was a prerequisite for being a follower of Christ, who proclaimed that trying to save our earthly lives would result in our losing our lives in the kingdom. But those who would give up their lives for His sake would find eternal life (Matthew 16:24–25; Mark 8:34–35). Indeed, Jesus even went so far as to say that those who are unwilling to sacrifice their lives for Him cannot be His disciples (Luke 14:27).”
• Take up his cross: (or ‘bearing one’s cross’ – meant one was about to die, and that one would face ridicule and disgrace along the way [gotquestions.org])
  • “When a person carried a cross in Jesus’ day, no one thought of it as a persistent annoyance or symbolic burden. To a person in the first century, the cross meant one thing and one thing only: death by crucifixion. To carry a cross was to face the most painful and humiliating means of death human beings could develop.
  • Two thousand years later, Christians view the cross as a cherished symbol of atonement, forgiveness, grace, and love. But in Jesus’ day the cross represented a torturous death. The Romans forced convicted criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of crucifixion (see John 19:17). Bearing a cross meant one was about to die, and that one would face ridicule and disgrace along the way.
  • Therefore, Jesus’ command to “take up your cross and follow Me” is a call to self-abasement and self-sacrifice. One must be willing to die in order to follow Jesus. Dying to self is an absolute surrender to God.”
• Follow Jesus: (walk, live, love like Him)
  • To truly follow Christ means He has become everything to us. Everyone follows something: friends, popular culture, family, selfish desires, or God. We can only follow one thing at a time (Matthew 6:24). God states we are to have no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7; Mark 12:30). To truly follow Christ means we do not follow anything else. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” There is no such thing as a “halfway disciple.” As the disciples demonstrated, no one can follow Christ by the strength of his own willpower. The Pharisees were good examples of those who were trying to obey God in their own strength. Their self-effort led only to arrogance and distortion of the whole purpose of God’s Law (Luke 11:39; Matthew 23:24).
  • Jesus gave His disciples the secret to faithfully following Him, but they did not recognize it at the time. He said, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63). And “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them” (verse 65). The disciples had walked with Jesus for three years, learning, observing, and participating in His miracles. Yet, even they could not follow Him faithfully in their own strength. They needed a Helper.

 Jesus’ command to “take up your cross and follow Me” is a call to self-abasement and self-sacrifice. One must be willing to die in order to follow Jesus. Dying to self is an absolute surrender to God.

gotquestions.org

The cost is great but so was the cost that the Father and Son paid. The cost is great but the alternative, saving our life¹, is even greater. The cost is great but the benefits, the grace and mercies of God and His promise of eternal life are far greater. The costs is great – the choice is yours. 🦋

As for me, the words to this age old hymn came to mind and filled my heart and poured forth as my prayerful answer – If you agree with the prayer- comment ‘amen’ or if you would like to know how to be a follower of Christ – follow this link https://atomic-temporary-62140760.wpcomstaging.com/2023/03/14/know-these-truths/ and leave me a comment there – I would love to share a gift with you.

Father: “Take my life and let it be
Consecrated Lord to Thee
Take my moments and my days
Let them flow in ceaseless praise
Let them flow in ceaseless praise

The More We Know

¹To Save or to Lose One’s Life ?

For more insight check out today’s LGG Blog Post