Mark 8:34-35

Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, [Jesus] said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.”

Jesus’ breathtaking honesty is very striking. Day by day, we are constantly being encouraged to sign up to organisations which can improve our health, wealth or general wellbeing. Their marketing is slick and highly polished and calculated to get us to subscribe to their products or services. They help us to dream of a happier and more successful life and cram in every attractive and glossy image to lure us into signing up. Jesus took a completely different approach. He spoke straight to people about the costs of following him. It reminds me of Winston Churchill, who during the second world war offered people “blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

I am firmly convinced that living for Christ is the most amazing and wonderful life. I would recommend it to anyone. However, that doesn’t mean it’s easy, and Jesus wanted his followers to know from day one that he was going to completely change their approach to life. If they wanted to hang on to their old ways, they could do just that. Jesus was only inviting people to follow him who were prepared to go on a completely new journey. They needed to turn their back on their old way of life and start all over again.

We miss the point completely if we think that we can simply add a few Christian attitudes and virtues to our old way of life. It just won’t work. Like driving a car, there can only be one person at the controls. The apostle Paul put this very clearly when he wrote: “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Question

Do those words from the apostle Paul describe your life?

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, I hand over my life to you. I want to live for you today and ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I will please you in all that think, say and do. Amen