April 1
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Mark 8:34)
Jesus states that we must deny ourselves and take up our crosses and follow Him if we want to be His disciples. In Luke 14:27 He says, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” Matthew 10:38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” We cannot be His disciple and are not worthy of Him if we don’t take up our cross.
Taking up a cross is symbolic of being willing to die. That is exactly what Jesus did in real life, so He wasn’t just being dramatic to make a point. He actually did it! And He gave the ultimate sacrifice of His own life. So denying ourselves and being willing to die for the Lord and others each and every day is the attitude of being a living sacrifice. Having our own interests and desires, our own agenda, our own will, our own goals, all of these must be put aside if one is carrying a cross.
What does this look like in real life? You will have to find someone more spiritual than me to tell you. I can only guess because I’m not sure I have ever done it. But I imagine it involves diligent attention to the Word and constant attention to Christ, asking Him on a regular basis, “How can I serve you now? What is it now that you want me to do? How do I need to change my life so that I can do Your will, whatever it might be and wherever it might lead?”
Getting to this point in life is extremely difficult, I think. There is rarely a time that I think I would do anything for Christ and have no opinion on the matter or outright objections. Dying to ourselves and carrying a cross means total submission to God, nothing held back, no will whatsoever other than to do what God wants done. It is usually the more difficult stuff He wants done. Doing the most difficult and seemingly impossible things each and every day, minute by minute saying “No” to our fleshly desires and impulses. Saying “No” to the unkind remark we would really like to say, saying “Yes” to helping out when we are tired and want to just entertain ourselves, saying “No” to thoughts and activities that are wasteful or dishonoring to Christ, saying “Yes” to spending time in the Word and praying. Saying “Yes” to working hard and putting forth the extra effort and saying “No” taking another break and killing time talking to someone we enjoy talking to. Saying “Yes” to reaching out to others, saying “No” to extra hours of sleep.
Dying to ourselves on a daily basis is the hardest thing we will ever do. It is rededicating ourselves as a living sacrifice day by day, minute by minute. There is no possible way we can do this on our own strength. Only by abiding in Him and regularly asking Him for wisdom and strength will we have any success at all at being living sacrifices, in my opinion.
How are you doing as a living sacrifice? Do you need help in this area? Is it time to cry out to God for humility, a broken and contrite spirit, a new perspective, wisdom, a fresh and lasting change from pursuing our own interests to only pursuing His? It is for me. Each and every day. “Lord, make me a living sacrifice pleasing to You. Give me the grace to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow You faithfully and well, each and every day. Thank you so much for Jesus. Help me be like Him in all things. Amen!