Mark 8: 34-35, sees Jesus inviting anyone who wants to follow Him to take three steps.
Verse 34 says, “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.'”
This is a radical invitation for anyone who wants to follow Jesus. It is not an easy invitation, or a comfortable invitation, or a popular invitation. It is a costly invitation, a demanding invitation, a challenging invitation. It is an invitation that requires three steps: deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him.
To deny themselves means to renounce their own desires, plans, and ambitions, and to submit to God’s will and authority. It means to say no to themselves, and to say yes to God. It means to give up their own rights, privileges, and preferences for the sake of Christ, and to give in to God’s commands, purposes, and promises. It means to put God first, and themselves last. It means to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love their neighbors as themselves.
To take up their cross means to accept the suffering, persecution, and sacrifice that may come with following Christ, and to identify with His death and resurrection. It means to bear the pain, the shame, and the burden of the cross, and to share in the joy, the glory, and the power of the resurrection. It means to die to themselves, to their sin, to their pride, to their fear, and to live for Christ, for His righteousness, for His grace, for His love. It means to follow the way of the cross, the way of humility, the way of service, the way of love.
To follow Him means to imitate His example, obey His commands, and trust His promises. It means to learn from Him, to listen to Him, and to love Him. It means to walk with Him, to work with Him, and to worship Him. It means to be His disciple, His friend, His partner. It means to be His witness, His ambassador, His representative. It means to be like Him in His character, in His actions, in His words.
These three steps are not optional, selective, or occasional. They are essential, comprehensive, and continual. They are not only for the first century, or for the apostles, or for the martyrs. They are for every century, for every believer, for every follower. They are not only for the hard times, or for special occasions, or for extraordinary situations. They are for every time, for every day, for every situation. They are the call to discipleship.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank You for inviting us to follow You, and for showing us the way of discipleship. We confess that we often fail to deny ourselves, to take up our cross, and to follow You. We ask You to forgive us, and to renew our commitment to You.
Help us, Lord, to renounce our own desires, plans, and ambitions, and to submit to Your will and authority. Help us to say no to ourselves, and to say yes to You. Help us to give up our own rights, privileges, and preferences for Your sake, and to give in to Your commands, purposes, and promises. Help us to put You first, and ourselves last. Help us to love You with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Help us, Lord, to accept the suffering, persecution, and sacrifice that may come with following You, and to identify with Your death and resurrection. Help us to bear the pain, the shame, and the burden of the cross, and to share in the joy, the glory, and the power of the resurrection. Help us to die to ourselves, to our sin, to our pride, to our fear, and to live for You, for Your righteousness, for Your grace, for Your love. Help us to follow the way of the cross, the way of humility, the way of service, the way of love.
Help us, Lord, to imitate Your example, obey Your commands, and trust Your promises. Help us to learn from You, to listen to You, and to love You. Help us to walk with You, to work with You, and to worship You. Help us to be Your disciple, Your friend, Your partner. Help us to be Your witness, Your ambassador, Your representative. Help us to be like You in Your character, in Your actions, in Your words.
We thank You, Lord, for the privilege and the responsibility of following You. We thank You for the grace and the power that You give us to do so. We thank You for the reward and the glory that You have prepared for us in Your kingdom. We pray all this in Your name. Amen.
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