Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
Matthew 16:24-26 speaks to this better than I can ever hope to in all my eloquence and prose. My whole life was speckled with people who openly professed how much they loved Jesus Christ and how faithfully they served the Lord. They were not just in the churches I attended. They were administrators in my private school. They were teachers and cafeteria workers in my public school. They were the neighbor down the street that frowned upon my horseplay and our friends being loud in front of their brownstone. They were the cashier at my local supermarket. They were everywhere it seems. They said all the right things in front of company. Actually they still do. Their public persona is nearly spotless and not a wrinkle is detected by the untrained eye. But when the only one that is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient looks at his creation in that person, what does He see? Does he sees spots? Does he detect wrinkles? Does he sees something that the outside person cannot?
We're in the midst of a process in our ministry where discipleship is being emphasized in a big way. That should be the normal in today's church but it is sadly at a premium and not at all common nowadays. People don't really want to know what Jesus would do. They just want all the benefits that go with being associated with him but not make the necessary sacrifices. Romans 12:1-2 does an excellent job of speaking to this as Paul asks his brothers and friends, "I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."
1. Be a living sacrifice. That terminology might be lost on some of us especially since the word "sacrifice" has been cast in a negative light in cinematic and literary circles. It is defined as "an act of slaughtering an animal or person or surrendering a possession as an offering to God or to a divine or supernatural figure."
That doesn't sound good and I understand that but in the terms and context the scriptural passage is detailing, it is meant "an official offering prescribed by God that is acceptable because it is offered on His terms."
That implies there are many kinds of sacrifices that are offered to God but not all of them are acceptable? Why? Because they are not given on His terms or they don't meet His specific standards. The sacrifice must be living and it must be holy, or without spot or blemish -- it must be our best and it must be for lack of a better word, sacrificial. Essentially, it needs to cost us something. If a man has a thousand dollars and he gives a homeless man a penny, it didn't truly cost him. If a man has a million dollars and he donates five, it didn't truly cost him. If a man gives away his only automobile to someone who has none, he has given something that costs him. If a woman pawns her most precious and valuable piece of jewelry in order to help a friend with a heavy medical cost, she has given something that costs her greatly.
We have to daily and willingly lay ourselves on the altar and allow the Lord to do His work, no matter how painful, uncomfortable, and inconvenient. The dead sacrifices don't get a choice. The live ones give glory to God because they have decided to choose God. That's how you worship God.
2. Take up your cross. This is not a pleasant visual for anyone that understood the Roman tradition of crucifixion in earlier Biblical times. The understanding was that if someone was taking their cross, they were taking it to their eventual death. It was, in effect, a one way trip. They would not return. What does it sound like Jesus is asking us to do? It could appear He is asking us to pick up our proverbial crosses and die with Him. Maybe some of you are hearing that we should follow His example in every facet of our lives. Perhaps a few of you are understanding this to mean that we should be executing that aspect of our selves that is carnal, fleshly, and in stark opposition to God. Maybe you have gathered that all three are appropriate determinations to come to.
I am going through one of the fiercest trials I have ever been through. That is a clear indicator for me that there is something even greater at the end of it but I still have to go through. I can't go around. I can't circumvent or slide under. I have to go through and I fully intend to. For me, in the light of all that God has done in my life and the mercy he has shown this crazy Brooklyn kid, standing and following His example is the least I can do. I hope today you will do the same.
Thanks for reading Mirror Time and for subscribing with us. We appreciate you.
That doesn't sound good and I understand that but in the terms and context the scriptural passage is detailing, it is meant "an official offering prescribed by God that is acceptable because it is offered on His terms."
That implies there are many kinds of sacrifices that are offered to God but not all of them are acceptable? Why? Because they are not given on His terms or they don't meet His specific standards. The sacrifice must be living and it must be holy, or without spot or blemish -- it must be our best and it must be for lack of a better word, sacrificial. Essentially, it needs to cost us something. If a man has a thousand dollars and he gives a homeless man a penny, it didn't truly cost him. If a man has a million dollars and he donates five, it didn't truly cost him. If a man gives away his only automobile to someone who has none, he has given something that costs him. If a woman pawns her most precious and valuable piece of jewelry in order to help a friend with a heavy medical cost, she has given something that costs her greatly.
We have to daily and willingly lay ourselves on the altar and allow the Lord to do His work, no matter how painful, uncomfortable, and inconvenient. The dead sacrifices don't get a choice. The live ones give glory to God because they have decided to choose God. That's how you worship God.
2. Take up your cross. This is not a pleasant visual for anyone that understood the Roman tradition of crucifixion in earlier Biblical times. The understanding was that if someone was taking their cross, they were taking it to their eventual death. It was, in effect, a one way trip. They would not return. What does it sound like Jesus is asking us to do? It could appear He is asking us to pick up our proverbial crosses and die with Him. Maybe some of you are hearing that we should follow His example in every facet of our lives. Perhaps a few of you are understanding this to mean that we should be executing that aspect of our selves that is carnal, fleshly, and in stark opposition to God. Maybe you have gathered that all three are appropriate determinations to come to.
I am going through one of the fiercest trials I have ever been through. That is a clear indicator for me that there is something even greater at the end of it but I still have to go through. I can't go around. I can't circumvent or slide under. I have to go through and I fully intend to. For me, in the light of all that God has done in my life and the mercy he has shown this crazy Brooklyn kid, standing and following His example is the least I can do. I hope today you will do the same.
Thanks for reading Mirror Time and for subscribing with us. We appreciate you.
No comments:
Post a Comment