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Chapter 9 of the Book of Luke records Jesus’ conversation with his disciples where He foretells of His death, and then tells them how they should live if they wanted to follow Him.
Luke 9:23 (NKJV) states: 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.
In the above verse, Jesus told the disciples that they would have to deny themselves. For example, they would have to lay aside all their wills, desires, and interests, just to name a few. And they would have to follow Jesus – the life He lived.
From Scripture, we know the life that Jesus lived. With absolutely no focus on Himself, Jesus lived in complete surrender and total obedience to God. And Jesus carried out the Father’s Will, even unto death on the cross.
The life Jesus talked about in Luke 9:23 is not easily attained. It will require that the believer commit time to pray, read and meditate on scriptures, and spend quality time being quiet before God. The believer must also create barriers against the influence of the world.
Without a doubt, a life of self-denial is hindered, or perhaps rendered all but impossible, if the believer yields to the world’s emphasis on self – its wants, its wills, its interests, and its desires. A self-centered life directly opposes the life of self-denial. And a self-centered life does not glorify God.
We should all want to glorify God. To do so, it will require that we constantly reflect upon the lives we are living. Perhaps you may want to ponder the following question:
Am I, in any way, no matter how small, allowing myself to be influenced by the world?
If your answer is yes, acknowledge your wrongdoing (your sin) and ask God to forgive you. But do not stop there. To completely turn away from the world and its influences, you will need to re-prioritize spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, scripture reading, fasting, and being quiet before God. In the end, the believer’s heart posture should be to live a life where, every day, we willingly and consistently deny self and follow Jesus.
1 John 1:9 (NKJV) states: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Except where indicated, scripture references are from the American Standard Version (ASV), Darby Translation (DARBY), or King James Version (KJV) – all public domains.
