Deny yourself and take up your cross

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?” (Matthew 16:24–26)
 
As we draw nearer to the cross this holy week, our primary duty should be to contemplate the meaning of the cross and to marvel at Jesus’ selfless sacrifice of His life to save us from sin, death, and eternal separation from God. Let His rejection by the religious leaders, betrayal by Judas, denial by Peter, abandonment by his disciples, humiliation and torture at the hands of the Romans, and ultimately his forsakenness by the Father on the cross, move you to awe, worship and gratitude.

But do not let your devotion end there. Make no mistake, while it is only by Jesus’ life, death and resurrection that any of us are made right with God, those of us who have been saved are also called to follow Jesus in denying ourselves and taking up our cross. While we will never be called to die for the sins of the world, we face multiple decision points every day where we can choose to indulge ourselves or deny ourselves for the sake of God or our neighbor. For example:

- Deny time scrolling on your phone to call someone you haven’t seen in awhile
- Deny yourself a purchase you want to make in order to give to someone in need
- Deny sharing a piece of gossip that will make you feel better but tear someone else down in order to protect their reputation
- Deny doing what you want to do in order to take care of the needs of your spouse, child, or parent
- Deny yourself overeating in order to eat healthy
- Deny yourself indulging an addiction in order to worship God
- Deny yourself time watching TV in order to meet with God and pray for the salvation of others

Jesus’ remarkable promise is that whoever loses their life for Him will find it. Self-denial, in other words, is not a masochistic endeavor, but is an act of faith that nothing this world has to offer can compare to the full life that is found in knowing and following Jesus. Take some time between you and the Lord after you finish reading this and ask Him to help you to see where He is calling you to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him, that you might find life to the fullest.