Verses to live by in 2025! Matthew 16:24-26
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Jesus’ teaching is so radical, revolutionary, and yet more than a little repugnant (is there a better R word to use here?) to the way many people approach life.
If I know my own heart, I know that most of us are very good at following our preferences, our likes and dislikes. We often make our decisions in life according to what we think will bring me the most happiness.
The call of Jesus here slams this mindset down to the dirt.
It’s shocking. It’s utterly opposed to how I, very often, will go about my day to day.
Jesus is the King who is going to suffer, go to the cross, and then to ascend to glory. And that’s the shape of life for his followers now. To be all about Jesus, and not all about me. The call of Christ is to put ourselves to the side.
Jesus is calling us to deny ourselves, to disown the ‘self’ as the most primary thing about us. All of life belongs to Christ, and all of life is to be oriented toward Christ and for Christ. To deny ourselves is renounce primary allegiance to the self. It means that we are to put our wants, needs, desires under what Jesus says and have them shaped by what he says.
Jesus is calls us to carry a cross. Historically, cross carrying was a practice enacted by the Romans. Cross carrying was for offenders who had rebelled against authority. For a prisoner to carry a cross to the place of their execution, it’s a picture of complete submission and humility.
Jesus is saying, quite shockingly to our modern sensibilities, is that to follow him is to submit to his authority in a similar way. Like a condemned criminal carrying their cross, we’re to surrender our lives to him. Totally, without holding anything back, but wholly and completely.
Self denial and cross carrying is not meant to be a sometimes, on again and off again, kind of thing. Jesus calls us to follow him regardless, no matter the personal cost.
Self denial and cross carrying means we sit under God’s authoritative word rather than judging it according to our own standards, taking or leaving it as we choose.
Self denial and cross carrying means that Christianity isn’t a part time project, or a side hustle alongside the main part of life.
Jesus is to be the everything of our lives.
And Jesus gives a beautiful, glorious promise for his followers. Following him is not a loss. It’s never a loss. People can believe they’ve gained everything in the world, and yet have nothing. If you have Christ, you have everything.
Those who lose their lives for his sake will gain them. There is life with Christ. What a hope this is!
Thankfully Christ is kind and gracious, he is merciful toward those who stray and repent. His forgiveness is sweet and his grace is overflowing. Yet, the call is hard hitting, a call to examine our hearts.
Is our primary allegiance with Jesus? Or is it with me?
Please pray that this coming year that God will humble us and do his gracious work is us so that we might follow him.