“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Matthew 16:24-25
Recently, I sent out a survey seeking to understand two questions about (1) what Christians thought it meant to “take up their cross and follow Christ” and (2) what are the challenges that prevent them from doing it.
Resoundingly, the answer to the first question was “surrendering to Christ one’s time, treasure, and talent.” The answer to the most significant challenge was “busyness.” Isn’t that fascinating? Is this an anomaly?
Apparently, most Christians are unwilling to give up the very thing they believe demonstrates “taking up their cross and following Christ.” Now, we can’t put too much statistical validation on the instrument, but it may anecdotally reveal a dilemma. For the sake of argument, let’s assume the results are valid and we have a corresponding problem, namely that:
There is an unwillingness to surrender to Christ (because of busyness); the very thing we believe (surrendering) most expresses “taking up our cross and following Christ.”
If this is true, what are some potential solutions?
- Increase better activity or program alternatives for Christians to participate in.
- Reduce activities and free up time.
Or
- Teach, model, and train true living is realized by learning to die (taking up our cross and following Christ).
Let me explain:
True Living
The culture has offered two primary solutions to living fully: (1) express yourself, sow your wild oats; you only have one life; and (2) repress joy, deny emotions, and avoid pain. These are appealing, but there must be a better answer.
Learning to Die
What is learning to die? Is it surrendering? The survey said busyness crowds that one out. Is it serving? It could be, but could there also be a first step before expressing surrender, service, and other variations of a Christian demonstrating learning to die? I believe there is. I believe it is correct thinking—a reordering of our desires.
How do we have correct thinking–a reordering of our desires?
The Gospel
Joy despite the pain. Life through death.
How does the gospel teach us to have joy despite pain? How do we find life through death? Jesus gives us a clue in Matthew 16:23:
“But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
We’ll unpack this verse and the answer to true living by learning to die…next week!
— April 11, 2024