<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Jesus told his disciples, \u2018If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it’\u201d (Matthew 16:24,25).<\/p>\n
FOR JESUS, THE JOY WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CROSS. The \u201cjoy that was set before him\u201d could only be His after He \u201cendured the cross\u201d (Hebrews 12:2). If we wish to follow Jesus, what will we do? We want the joy He now has with the Father, but will we follow Him to the cross? \u201cIf anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n
There have been some of the Lord\u2019s disciples who have died by crucifixion as Jesus did. Peter seems to have suffered such a death (John 21:18,19). But that is not what the Lord was talking about when He said we must \u201ctake up our cross.\u201d Regardless of what happens to our physical bodies, there is something else about us that must die. There is something that must be \u201cdenied.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anyone would come after me, let him deny himself.\u201d<\/em> For all of us (at least those old enough to have committed sin), it is \u201cself\u201d that must be crucified. Paul said of his own conversion, \u201cI have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me\u201d (Galatians 2:20).<\/p>\n God created us for the joy of living inside the limits of His love. He never wanted anything for us but \u201clife.\u201d Yet we rebelled. We threw off His restraints. And what we found was not greater life, but \u201cdeath\u201d in all of its many forms. So this \u201cself\u201d \u2014 this stubborn, greedy demand to grasp what is \u201cours\u201d \u2014 is what got us into trouble. If we\u2019re to be saved, it will have to be gotten rid of.<\/p>\n If we\u2019re not willing to put our self-will to death, we make a tragic and foolish mistake. Jesus said, \u201cWhoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.\u201d It is life\u2019s ultimate irony that we only get what we\u2019ve given up.<\/em><\/p>\n It sounds like a good thing to be \u201cresurrected,\u201d doesn\u2019t it? But there is some dying that has to be done before a resurrection can take place. If there is anything other than God that we can\u2019t or won\u2019t give up, then the devil has our heart. \u201cGive it up,\u201d Jesus says. \u201cHold on to it, and you will die. But die, and you will live.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWithout sacrifice there is no resurrection\u201d (Andr\u00e9 Gide).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n