Week 2: Jesus Begins His Ministry
Matthew 8:18-22, Luke 9:23-27, 9:57-62, 14:25-33, John 15:18-27
Despite what cultural Christianity, the prosperity gospel, or any false representation of Jesus begs you to believe, following Jesus means taking up your cross daily. To take up your cross in the time of Jesus was bearing the weight of a criminal headed to death, to die ultimately. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a 20th-century pastor and theologian who was martyred for his resistance to the Nazis, boldly stated, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die”. What a clear, yet brutal, picture of the reality of following Christ.
When you declare Jesus as Lord of your life, you no longer sit on the throne. It is not your life's endeavor to build your own kingdom, but to die to yourself daily as you build God’s, the only one truly worthy. Luke 9:25 puts it plainly, “For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world an dloses or forfeits himself?” If we give up Christ, the only eternal thing, for the fleeting things of the world, we’re missing the whole point. What is excruciatingly difficult to loosen your grip on in surrendering to the Lord?
Jesus warns in Luke 14:27, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” The King of kings doesn’t want just part of you, Resonate, He wants all of you. And yes, the world may hate you, but the world hated the very one who came to seek and save their lost souls (John 15:18-19). But in God’s loving kindness, He doesn’t send us the order to die daily on our own accord, gifting us the Helper, to aid us in bearing witness to the Father.
So when you grow weary or are tempted to dwell in worldly comfort, remember the call of the Lord on your life, recount the cost of discipleship, and ask the Holy Spirit to encourage you to believe that He is worth it. May your life reflect the true cost of discipleship. May you make sacrifices unto the Lord, forgoing your preferences for His pursuits. May following Jesus satisfy you completely, Resonate.
