Matt. 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
What does it mean to deny one self? What about taking up our cross? Jesus can't mean for us to actually carry a literal cross today, can He? How do we really follow Christ, since He is not walking in front of us, like He was with the disciples? How do you lose your life, when you actually are alive right now?
"Come after me" is talking about being disciples of Christ; a Christian. Being a "disciple", or "come after me", would have had the same meaning to the people listening to Jesus; a follower.
"Deny yourself" has the idea of knowing that we are totally inadequate on our own, in our flesh, to come and follow Christ. We have no ability to desire Christ above the world's pleasure. We are lost, without hope, dead, without power to save ourselves and we must look to Christ for His work in our lives to make us alive. Deny any ability on our own for salvation.
"Take up you cross" would have had a very poignant meaning for them, as many Jews had been crucified by the Roman government. This would have a clear meaning of an instrument of death to them. I often think about a literal cross, but Jesus was speaking more of a means of death to ourselves. I am much better at the big "crosses" than the little ones. I can see the big ones as important, but the little ones are more of an inconvenience, rather than something that I have to be willing to die to. Yet these small ones all add up to the weight of our daily, hourly, minutely, struggle in dying to ourselves.
So when we have finally reached the point of seeing our need to follow Christ, through His leading, and understand that none of this comes from within us, but it's all of Christ's work in us, on our behalf, when we are finally willing to joyfully follow Christ's example of self denial, as He demonstrated for us by leaving Heaven and coming to earth to die for the ones He created, then, and only then, are we ready to say we are ready to become Christians; Disciples of Christ; His Followers. Until then, we are trying to gain without going through pain, we are trying to have both the treasure and the easy life here on earth. This is not the path to Heaven as Jesus is lining out for us.
Jesus is saying that if we want to gain eternal life in Heaven with Him, we need to be willing and ready to suffer for His name, like He suffered here on earth. There is no gaining w/o losing. He MAY chose to bless us here on earth, but there is no guarantee of that physical/material blessing, and we need to be wary of earthly wealth; as He tells us it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter Heaven. Does He say that we can't have earthly riches? No. But He is saying that we need to be willing to not have even a place to lay our heads, on earth, if that what it takes to follow Him completely.
In the end, what have we gained if we have possessed the entire world's treasures, for our short time, and have traded that for an eternity w/o God and in Hell? We haven't gained at all, but we have made the worst investment possible. We have traded being rich for "a day", for being poor for "a lifetime".
Does being rich on earth gain you anything in the pursuit of the salvation of our souls? No, all souls are valued the same and are bought with the exact same price; Christ's blood on the cross. The question is, are you really willing to trade?
The thought of the trade may be more painful that the actual trade, because like the rich young ruler, there is a potentially great cost. I say "potentially" because again, God may chose to allow you to have much of what we have already acquired here on earth, but the pain comes in asking yourself if you are really willing to give it all up, if that is what He requires. Are you willing to leave everything you have received, all by His goodness in the first place, for the possibility of having nothing but Him while you remain on earth? There is where the pain comes from. This is not easy believism.
This is from an unknown author, but seems to sum up what Christ is saying about denying ourselves.
"Suppose you have been neglected or unforgiven. You sting with the hurt of the insult from such an oversight, but your heart is happy because you have been counted worthy to suffer for Christ. That is what dying to self is all about.
When your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, and your opinions ridiculed, and yet you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or try to defend yourself, you are practicing dying to self. When you lovingly and patiently stand face to face with folly and spiritual insensitivity, and endure it as Jesus did, you have died to self.
When you are content with any food, money, clothing, climate, society, solitude, or interruption by the will of God, you have died to self. When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, record your own good works, or desire commendation from others, you are dying to self. When you can honestly rejoice with a brother who has prospered and had his needs met, and never feel any envy though your needs are greater and still unmet, you have practiced dying to self.
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, and humbly admit he's right with no resentment or rebellion in your heart, you have died to self. Are you dead yet?"
From this list, I have a long way to go. I am encouraged that Christ has begun the work, and I pray that He would continue it, as I don't have the will, nor the capacity, to do this w/o Him doing it in me.
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