“Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me’” (Luke 9:23).
There were times when Jesus said something that caused His disciples to look at each other, amazement written on their faces, completely puzzled as to what He was really saying. His logic seemed to contradict everything they held to be normal. Say, for example, the time He said, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). They understood that no great cause could be achieved apart from personal sacrifice, but was He talking about sacrifice to destroy the Romans or something more than this? What did He really mean when He talked about denying self?
To deny yourself means that you are fully persuaded that there is a cause greater than your personal gratification. And how does this translate into life today? If you really love her, then you can wait. If you are convinced that being a doctor is important, you will endure the months and years of hardship, the long nights without sleep, and the unending conferences and seminars. When you get sight of the greater goal, the hardship and discipline of the moment are bearable. The bottom line is that there are no real shortcuts to accomplishment in life.
Visitors to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican stand in awe and marvel at the beautiful walls and ceilings; but few know anything of the intense physical suffering Michelangelo endured as he lay on his back hour after hour, day after day. He worked on in spite of the drops of paint that smarted his eyes. Today, we see only the ecstasy and know little of the agony, for in an age of quick-service and instant foods, we want the end result now, without enduring the pain and suffering that it takes to produce the fruit of our efforts.
Christ Himself demonstrated this principle when He faced the temptations of Satan. What Christ was offered—the kingdom–is what He ultimately will receive in full measure; but to gain what God had in store for Him demanded nothing less than the self-discipline of a cross. Jesus made it plain that it was not the Romans or the fate of crossing the religious establishment that finally cost Him His life; He said that He would willingly lay it down.
Did you notice the force of the word daily? What counts in life is not the brilliant start but the finish. It is not the promising talent, but what you do with the talent you have. The athlete who stands on the winner’s box didn’t get there by taking a long weekend to train, but he or she excelled by the daily grind, long workouts, pushing himself day after day to go faster, to run harder, to take one more jump.
I am thinking of some very brilliant men who started out in a doctoral program with me but never finished, because they simply did not have the daily discipline that it took to keep the goal before them. In World War 1 the British doughboys coined the phrase, “slough on” as they faced the muddy trenches of battle. When William Carey, the missionary to India who endured great hardship and loss, was asked how he wanted to be remembered, he replied, “As a plodder!” Forget his achievements. He just hoped people would remember that he didn’t quit when the going got tough.
Christ’s advice for living did not stop there. “Take up your cross daily,” He said, “and follow Me.” The person who follows Him is walking in the footsteps of a living Savior, not a dead Christ on a cross. He’s been there and knows the way home. Think about it, friend. And then, take up your cross and follow Him.
Resource reading: Joshua 1.
