The following is an extract from the Going Deeper section from LIVE: Session Three.
Jesus was never hesitant to state the benefits of what he offers. We never hear him say: “Well, if it seems like a convenient time, you might want to consider” … “I think you really might enjoy this” … “I don’t want to sound presumptuous, but what I offer is rather special!” Instead, Jesus is bold and remarkably direct. He says the benefit of placing our faith in him is that he forgives our sins and brings us into an intimate relationship with God now and for all eternity. He gives us abundant life—not gifts like a Ferrari or an all-expense-paid holiday, but a life of meaning, purpose, profound joy and fulfillment! Through Jesus we discover who we are and whose we are. We have a sense of belonging because we finally know our true home.
At the same time, Jesus warned people to stop and count the cost of being his disciple. William Barclay, author and Bible commentator, rightly observed about Jesus and his disciples: “No one could ever say that they were induced to follow Jesus by false pretenses. Jesus never tried to bribe men by the offer of an easy way.”
Jesus said: “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost” (Luke 14 v 28, NKJV). Jesus was always upfront with any would-be follower about the terms. While the cost pales next to the joy and meaning that come from following Jesus, what is this cost that Jesus is referring to?
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8 v 34, ESV). Notice the use of the word “if”. What Jesus is acknowledging is that we have a choice. When Jesus invited people to follow him, he did not run after them in case they felt the price was too high. He didn’t renegotiate the terms for being his disciple in order to get more followers.
What is this cost of commitment? Jesus uses three phrases to describe what it means to be his disciple: deny yourself, take up your cross, and lose your life for my sake.
Deny Yourself
To deny yourself doesn’t mean to deny your feelings or your self-worth. It doesn’t mean to deny your capacity to think and reason. Denying self may involve denying things, but that still isn’t what Jesus is getting at. To deny yourself means to deny your claim to run your life. It means to turn over the controls of your life to Jesus. He is now the One in control of your life—not you. We give up the old self in order to embrace and become the person God has created us to be.
Take Up Your Cross
This phrase doesn’t mean having to endure an illness or an awful boss. Jesus is referring to the criminal who was forced to carry a cross beam on his way to being executed. That man knew that any agendas or plans he had for himself were now over. It sounds harsh—but Jesus is intentionally using a vivid phrase to say something very important. Jesus sacrificed his life for us. We will never find anyone who loves us like Jesus. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29 v 11). That means we must trust that God knows what he is doing with our lives. It is insanity to insist that our plans must prevail over God’s plans for our lives. We are finite—God is infinite. He sees everything while we see “in a mirror dimly” (1 Corinthians 13 v 12, ESV). Yes, by all means, we should share our dreams with Jesus. Then we must trust that either God will resurrect our dreams with purposes far greater than we ever imagined, or God will replace them with dreams and plans of his own. Either way, we cannot loose. But we submit ourselves to God’s plan for our lives, not our own.
Lose Your Life
Jesus told his followers: “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matthew 16 v 25-27). The paradox of our walk with Jesus is this: we find ourselves when we lose ourselves for Jesus’ sake. How do we lose our lives for him? By investing all that we are and have for him and the gospel. We follow the example of Jesus, who gave everything for our sake and held nothing back. Perhaps that will mean we serve Christ as a teacher, a nurse, a laborer, a lawyer or a missionary. He will show us. The key is that we give Jesus every part of our lives to use for his glory and for his purposes.
Surrender to Christ is the only investment that truly pays off in the end! Christ promises there is greater joy both in this life and the next, when we live our lives sacrificially for him: “No one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life” (Luke 18 v 29-30). For by living for Christ, not only will we see spiritual fruit in this life, but one day we will hear the most precious words of all—God’s very own commendation: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25 v 23).
Jim Elliot was a young married man and the father of a toddler; educated, and a popular all-American guy. He had all his life ahead of him. He, along with four other men and their wives, risked everything to tell the Auca Indians of South America about Jesus. One day as the four men traveled to one of the most violent tribes on earth to share the good news—the tribe killed them all. Amazingly, two of the widowed wives stayed on to minister to the tribe. Eventually several of the men who had killed the missionaries gave their lives to Christ. Decades later, in an unbelievable expression of reconciliation, the son of one of the men who had been murdered was baptized by two of the men who murdered his father, in the very river where his father died.
Jim Elliot summarized the cost and the glory of committing one’s life to Christ when he said: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”.
Reflect:
Rebecca Manley Pippert regularly speaks on spiritual renewal, evangelism and character formation for church conferences, at schools and colleges and in pastoral training seminars. Becky has written several books on evangelism and Christian living, including the best-selling Out of the Saltshaker and Stay Salt.
