Deny yourself, an act of obedience

 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.

Matthew 16:24‭-‬25 NIV

This is NOT a casual laying down or giving up something. It's paradoxical, salvation costs you nothing, it's a free gift of Grace and Mercy, Jesus accepts you just as you are, broken, shamed, sinful. However there is a cost within his Kingdom to lay everything down to Jesus as liege Lord, King and Master. 

The truth is we all come to him, sinful, broken, confused, even if we are aware of our condition or not, and he redeems us, only if we are humble enough to recognize ourselves as exactly that, in need of salvation.

This is literally a call to die, a death on the cross, of yourself on the throne of your heart. To lay down and surrender your identity, hopes, dreams, struggles, and pains, the very essence of yourself in favour of Christ as Lord. 

To count the cost, to deny your rights, a crucifixion of yourself and all that you are, whether good or bad, you exist only in Christ, you are dead, and Christ lives in you. Body, Spirit and soul, to find yourself only in Christ, your identity is his, and his is yours. 

Narrow is the path that leads to life, and only few find it. Only then in this place of complete and utter surrender do you become aware of the magnitude of what you have actually gained, life without limitations, creative capacity, joy, peace and trust. 

You don't belong to you, you belong to Christ (bought at a high cost) and HE will take care of you.

Additional notes from various sources to back up my thoughts.

The Greek word “deny” means to utterly separate, to completely disown from something. 

The words “take up” indicate that a person is willing to pay a price for the cross. The Greek tense indicates that he is to do this at once.

The “cross” was an apparatus of execution. The disciple is ready to accept what the Lord consigns to him. He is willing to pay any price for Him. True discipleship follows Jesus. He has the right to direct our life.

Denial of self is not the same as self-denial.

APPLICATION:

Denial of self has to do with yielding self-control to God completely. Self-denial can be an ascetic approach to life to gain God’s approbation. The latter is not biblical, but the former is. 

To deny yourself is not the giving up of things but the giving up of yourself wholly and completely to the Lord Jesus. (There is a distinct difference) To deny yourself and take up your cross has less to do with the daily burdens you carry or problems you may have to face, rather it is to live for Christ and to fully identify with every aspect of His rejection, shame, suffering, and death.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Oh to Be Chosen

 I don’t consider myself religious anymore. At least, not in the way people might expect. There was a time when belief felt structured, defined—something I either fit into or drifted away from. And in many ways, I did drift. I questioned, I pulled back, I let go of things that no longer felt true to me. But somewhere along the way—quietly, unexpectedly—something else found me. Not rules. Not obligation. Not pressure to become someone else. But a sense… that I am already chosen. And I know how that sounds, especially to those who’ve perhaps taken a step back from me over time. Maybe it feels like I’ve changed in ways that are hard to understand. Maybe it feels like distance was necessary. But the truth is, this hasn’t been about becoming more distant from myself. It’s been the opposite. It’s been about coming home. --- Oh to be chosen— not polished, not rehearsed, not softened at the edges to fit another’s comfort, but as I am in the quiet, unguarded truth of myself. To be seen beyo...
Read more

Inherited Shame

When I look back on my life, it is often with a sense of shame. A quiet, persistent feeling that no matter when, where, or who—it was always me. I was the common denominator. I was the one to blame. Inspired by a song of the Pet Shop Boys it's a sin. Music often speaks deeply to one's soul,  reflecting truths and emotions that remain buried in the subconscious until you recognise yourself within the lyrics. Another song that inspired this is Losing my religion by R.E.M.  Anthropology is the study of humans—how we live, think, evolve, and relate to each other across time and cultures. Music is one of form of art (also poetry and visual arts, that transcends across the human experience bringing emotional weight to otherwise plain lives. For a long time, I understood my life through that lens. Especially when I realised I was queer. I never chose this—this attraction to men. And it felt, for years, like something that set my life on a harder path than it needed to be. I imagined ...
Read more

On Being: Not Enough (And Learning Otherwise

 Some days it comes quietly. Not with accusation or drama—just a low, persistent whisper that settles somewhere in the background of my mind: You haven’t really done much. It’s a strange thought, because I know it isn’t true. If I take a moment to look back, I can see the shape of a life that has been anything but empty. I have been a father. A husband. A provider. I have led, I have mentored, I have stood in the gap for others when it mattered. I have shown up. And yet, the feeling lingers. I’ve come to realise that this voice doesn’t deal in facts. It measures something far less tangible—something closer to expectation than reality. Perhaps it’s the distance between who I once imagined I would become and who I see when I look at myself now. Not disappointment, exactly. Just… a quiet questioning. But if I’m honest, there is another truth that sits alongside that voice—one that is easier to overlook because it doesn’t announce itself as loudly. I didn’t live my life on the surface....
Read more