Good Morning Friends,
“Jesus said: ‘If anyone would come after me, he
must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Whoever wants to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose his very self?
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him
when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy
angels. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death
before they see the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 9:23-27)
Our natural instinct is to follow our own ideas
and plans. We want to be in charge of ourselves and do what we want. Our
instinct is to give in to our desires and what we think will be best for us and
make us happy. Our instinct is toward self-preservation. We are inclined to do
whatever will protect us and advance our lives and will.
Jesus calls to live opposite from our natural
instincts. He calls us to follow Him and His will, instead of our own. He calls
us to seek His desires and what is best for Him and His Kingdom, denying our
own desires and what is best for us. He calls us to put our lives on the line,
to be willing to sacrifice for Him and for others, even to the extent of being
willing to be executed for Him.
Deny ourselves – take up our cross – follow
Him. Those are the invitations of Jesus. They are the demands of Jesus for
those who seek what He offers, who want to be His disciples and learn about
life from Him.
Seems like the wrong path – a path away from
what is best for us. If we think that – we are wrong! The path Jesus sets
before us is the path toward saving our lives and advancing our eternal
advantage. In fact, if we chose to follow our natural instincts – although it
seems like the path toward what is best for us – it turns out to be the path
toward destruction.
His, by Grace, Steve
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