Denial, Destiny, Discipleship

A young man in high school came up to me recently and ask me about denying self and taking up our cross and following Jesus. Here is the passage in question. The issue was addressed twice in the recorded words of Jesus. Once when he was discussing their allegiance toward him in relation to the allegiance to this world and once after Peter told him he wasn't going to die.

Matthew 10:34-39 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 16:21-23 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

24-27 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 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? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Deny yourself. The first issue Jesus dealt with was self. It occurred to my spirit as I spoke with the young man that denying self is not about the bad stuff but is about the whole self–based culture we subscribe to. On another instance, the young man confided that he had tried to live the Christian life and be a witness during the past school year, but nothing he did made a difference. No one saw him as anything but a reject, a failure. In the end, he gave up and conformed to the evil around him. As he told the tale, my heart went out to him. So this day, I felt the Spirit speak to my spirit. It's about laying your dreams, your success down. God wants Jesus to be seen, not us. That is living in the shadow of the almighty! He takes the blows, but He also gets the glory. We don't shine -He does. Sometimes He elevates us to a prominent position -success, leadership, fame. But as children of God we stay under the shadow of the Son of God who redeemed us, who takes the blows. Our prominence should only make him more prominent. The world will not applaud that. They will expect us to take the bow if Jesus takes the blow. If we take a hit, His power keeps us upright and allows us to continue for His honor and glory. It is not lip-service and it is not hypocrisy. It is GRACE; it is remaining under the shadow: Psalm 91.

Take up your cross. The cross was the destiny of Jesus not just from the time he was born, but from the beginning -even before creation. Our cross is our destiny in him. Some will be persecuted; some will be killed; some will find fame. The latter may be the most difficult. Some will be hailed as heroes for a time. Some may live a day to day existence. My cross is my destiny in Christ. It is whatever the Father gives me to do with this earth life. If the world hated Him, they will not love us, even if we know earthly success.

Peter said “This can't happen to you.” Jesus replied, “You are caring only about human concerns. You are a stumbling block.”

Peter was crucified. Paul was beheaded. Steven was stoned. Some were burned to death. I like the idea of Moses: he lived to be 120 without losing any physical strength or natural force. God watched him breathe his last and then buried him in the mountain. But my cross -my destiny lies with my God regardless of what may come.

Follow Me! He is our new covenant. He becomes my purpose and my strength. The disciples got to watch him multiply bread and fish. They saw him walk on water and heard him calm the sea and wind. They got caught up in the miraculous and the hope of national restoration and elevation. But Jesus said follow me. Do what I do. Think like I think. Die like I die. Not that we must be crucified to follow him. That was his destiny but daily we die to our own ideas, plans and accomplishments that the life of Jesus may take our lives and accomplish our destiny. What we face, we must face following Him. What we receive, we must receive as a true life gift from Him for His honor and fame. His purpose was the redemption of the world. Each of our lives will look different, but our goal will be his goal. Our strength will be his strength. Our success will be his success. Our reward will be his reward.

We dream. We plan. We prepare. We give the plan to him. It dies and if it is resurrected it comes back in power for his glory. Otherwise we will find ourselves like Peter at his declaration: a stumbling block, serving Satan's plan, not respecting the things of God but only human concerns. I am so glad and encouraged that Peter went on to learn the process of denial, destiny and discipleship. He lived, he served and he died for Christ.