Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34
The Lord Jesus Christ emphasizes that in following Him, we are to take our own crosses and to deny ourselves. I his illustration, Jesus encouraged us that following Him also means that we become less of ourselves. In the process, we fight to remove ourselves in the throne of our lives, shifting from more of us to less, just as how Jesus did when He lived as human and sacrificed for us. In fact, Jesus had the choice, but He chose to go through pain and suffering, to justify us and to redeem us back into the refuge of our Abba Father. In his life, he showed us the image of what the kingdom of God is, he reaches out to people, teaches to them, heal them, freed them, and fed them. And so, Christ also encourages us to do the same, the crosses, the sacrifice we are to go through as God’s kingdom representatives to such as time as this.
Today, this is invitation to renew and re-commit our lives to follow Christ, in the pain and the waiting, the Lord is with us, for Jesus felt that too. Let us desire of more of Christ in our lives, that we may grasp what it means to deny ourselves and give selfless compassion to the lost and wandering. Yes, to follow Jesus is not a life free from suffering, but in suffering, we rejoice, because the Lord is glorified in our lives, and we know that ultimately, the Lord will deliver us and live eternally in joy with Him. Take heart, today, let your Spirits rejoice in Him, wait patiently and joyfully for Him, and live a fulfilling life.
