"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me'." Matthew 16:24
What is denying yourself? It is not a term that we are familiar with here in the 21st century, in America. We have stuff. We have plenty. We are never satisfied. We always want more. Denying our selfish desires and wants is not something high on our to do list, or something that even enters our minds.
Denying ourself means denying our own selfish desires. It means not doing what we want, and doing what God wants instead. It means putting God first in our lives; not letting things or people take His place. What are you placing before God?
In Luke 14, Jesus told a parable about a man who was preparing a great banquet. He invited many guests and sent a servant to give them the invitations. But all of them had excuses: "I just bought a field, so I must go and see it", "I just bought five yoke of oxen and I must try them out", and "I just got married, I can't come."
When the servant came back and reported this to his master the master was angry. He ordered his servant to go into the streets and invite anyone and everyone: the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. Still there was room in his house, so he sent his servant out onto the roads and country lanes until his house was full of guests.
Honestly I never understood this parable. I never thought it was a big deal. But last night I finally saw the big picture. At the beginning of the story Jesus says: "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the Kingdom of God." Jesus has a feast prepared for us. He is opening is house to us and preparing a great banquet. He has invited every single one of us. He wants us to be in a relationship with Him, He wants us to read His word, He wants us to talk to Him and spend time with Him. But how many times have we made excuses? I know the excuses in Luke are somewhat outdated and not applicable. But what about instead of just buying a field you say, "I just bought the new iphone 4...sorry God", or instead of oxen, "I just got a new car and I have to test it out", or "I just don't have time", "I'm busy", "I have plans with a friend", "I have to harvest my crops on farmville", "I'm texting"....when will we stop giving excuses?
Last night I heard someone speak on this subject. He got down on his knees and begged us to follow Jesus. He begged us. It made tears come into my eyes. This man was on fire and he was passionate and he wanted us to be too.
Last year I heard a man I greatly admire give a talk. It was heartfelt and real and trasparent. He had nothing to hide. He was truly a man after God's own heart. And his desire was for us to be that way too. At the end of it he said, "Follow me as I follow Christ." That is something I wish I could say.
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