“Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’ ” Luke 9:23
It doesn’t really get more blunt than that, does it?
What it means to be a disciple has really been on my heart a lot lately. It’s not a new question, but I’m receiving some new revelations about the importance of just BEING a disciple and not checking off a long list of things to do in order to fit the part. This passage in Luke has struck me with honesty as Christ so boldly said to them ALL that they must deny themselves and take up their cross daily. It’s interesting that we are often told to just follow Him. The invitation seems so simple. Just say you will follow Him and then BOOM, you’re a disciple. Here, in Luke 9:23, however, that’s not what Jesus said. He actually put two pre-requisites before that invitation. He knows that without denying ourselves and taking up our cross DAILY, it is IMPOSSIBLE to follow Him. I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that Jesus said “deny yourself” before He said “follow me”. If we don’t deny ourselves then we are following OUR wants and OUR desires, not His. Of course, the initial desire to go after Him in the first place can spark the deeper awareness of our need to deny ourselves, but eventually to actually follow Him, we have to die to ourselves.
We cannot be His disciple without denying ourselves.
Jesus wasn’t concerned with painting a pretty picture to entice the crowd to like Him. He told them exactly what the cost was to follow Him. He wasn’t trying to gain as many followers as possible to look cool or because He is insecure or weak or looking for the approval of man to boost His ego. He is emphasizing the importance of quality over quantity. The quality of our hearts is what Jesus is concerned about. By denying ourselves daily, we enlarge our capacity to learn from Him and be His disciple.
It’s a privilege we have to serve Him and an honor just to sit at His feet and learn from Him! He is inviting us there. To sit and learn from Him. To grab hold of all that He has for us. THAT is being a disciple. To recognize our selfishness and understand that we must deny ourselves to follow His holy and righteous ways. I’m not saying we have to be perfect. God knows we cannot achieve that this side of heaven, but it’s the active pursuit of Him that makes us His disciples. The constant understanding of our need for Him. If I can be honest, I’m learning just how hard denying myself has become for me. I have realized that I want a lot of things. And they’re not bad things either.
I want to be with my family.
I want to watch football as much as I want.
I want my own space.
I want to fall in love.
I want to eat candy without having to share.
I want to buy new clothes and have an actual closet to put them in.
I want to drink lots of coffee.
I want to be independent.
I want my own house.
I want to adopt orphans.
I want to live in Africa and Malaysia at the same time and somehow still visit my family as much as I’d like.
I could easily justify these and say they are things God would want for me and He just “wants me to be happy.” But when you deny yourself, you’re focus is solely on Him. It’s not about yourself and your happiness. As a matter of fact, the things that we often think will make us happy, don’t AT ALL. He knows what will truly make you happy! He created you! If I can put aside my wants and desires and follow Him, I will receive the fullness of life here and now. He alone can satisfy my soul. As a matter of fact, in His presence, my selfish desires melt away. I don’t want those things when I’m with Him. They aren’t satisfying. My selfish wants and desires are fleshly and temporal, but HIS desires can touch our hearts unlike anything in the world.
Through studying the Word of what discipleship looks like you can see that Jesus offered teachings to the mass crowds, but more intentionally and intimately to the small group of 12 disciples or sometimes just 2 or 3. The disciples grabbed hold of Jesus’ teachings and abandoned all to follow Him and learn from Him. This is what set them apart from the crowds. They FOLLOWED Him. They heard the call to surrender and they embraced it. Jesus continued living His life of love and compassion and INVITED the disciples into it. He didn’t give them all the answers. As a matter of fact, His “answers” were usually quite vague and thought provoking, but the disciples asked the hard questions, observed Him, learned from Him, sought understanding and spent time in His presence. It is the same technique for us today. I can only give you what I have and point you to the One who has it ALL. Ultimately, it is the Lord who disciples us. He is always inviting us to learn from Him.
What would it look like if we lived “I Surrender All” instead of just sang it? What if we quieted our minds and our wants and just sat at the feet of Jesus? What if we poured out our most costly oil at His feet as Mary did in John 12? Honoring Him. Loving Him. Blessing Him. What if we understood the passage in Matthew 16:24-26 that describes the true sacrifice of becoming a disciple? Denying ourselves. Taking up our cross. Going against the way of the world and truly following Him. Giving it ALL just as He did. What if we embraced the model of resting in His presence like Luke 10:42 tells us is the ONE THING that is needed?
The call to surrender is a call to BE with Him. To set our gaze on HIM. That’s what we are called to do as disciples! To watch His every move and only do what we see the Father doing (John 5:19). Learn from HIM and let His Kingdom come to earth, through YOU!! Let it be an overflow of just being with Him.
