So how do we die to live?
Matthew 16:24 essentially gives us three steps at the outset...
“24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24, ESV)
Deny yourself / Take up your Cross / Follow Jesus
Restated, this can be-
- Turn around
- Surrender
- Walk together
Turn around: This denial we discussed is not ultimate, so what is it? I think it begins with denying the lie of the world that it's all about me and that all we have is what we see. Denying self is about refusing to accept anything that pulls me away from God. Denying is about getting clarity in stopping the direction I am heading and turning to see the cross of Christ. Denying self is also to admit that I don't have the ability in myself to follow Jesus and that I need God to act in me. Denying self is also recognizing that I am a sinner and confessing and asking God to change me.
Surrender: Jesus said that you must renounce all you own or you could not follow Him. This sounds like the parable about the treasure in a field where the man sells all he owns in order to have the treasure by buying the field where he buried it. So surrender, I think, is making Christ the treasure of our life and putting down any old goal or desire or driving factor in our life and replacing it with one purpose- Jesus. Our old desires and our old purposes die on the cross and we now live to God. I am no longer a firefighter…I am a disciple of Jesus who sometimes works at a fire station. But this is supernatural. We need God to work in us to give us this surrender, this death. This is abandonment of trust and hope in the world for our satisfaction or happiness and replacing the object of our hope and trust and letting God be our portion and the strength of our hearts.
Walk together: Jesus wants us to follow his example. Jesus wants us to follow Him. Jesus wants us to rely on the Father as He did. Jesus wants us to Pray and to seek only the Father's will as He did. Jesus wants us to sacrifice ourselves for our bride as He did. Jesus wants us to put others before ourselves as He did. Jesus wants us to be compassionate and merciful to those who are suffering as He was. Jesus wants us to keep our eyes set to heaven and to not store up treasures on earth as He did. Jesus wants us to walk in fellowship with the Father as He did. Jesus wants us to live crazy meaningful lives that change everything like He did. Jesus wants us to be servants as He was. Jesus wants us to conquer with surrendered obedience to the Father as He did. Jesus wants us to trust that He has made a way. Jesus wants us to believe that He is our advocate and that He holds us firmly on the path. Jesus wants us to live in the light of the truth and not in the shadows of the lies of the world. Jesus wants us to be on mission. Jesus wants us to be disciples. Jesus wants us to make disciples. Jesus wants us.
Denying self, taking up a cross, and following Jesus is making our life about Jesus and not about ourselves. Let us do this each day when we wake. May we be God-centered, gospel driven, and Christ exalting in our families and in our work and in our ministry and in our recreation.
We need God's grace each step of the way so let us pray regularly and seek to connect with Him in His Word. We cannot make our life about Jesus without the Holy Spirit doing this in us. Ask and receive, seek and find.
“10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:10–11, ESV)
Soli Deo Gloria!
