Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
Matthew 16:24
An American Football coach who was nearing the end of his career was asked the difference between the players he coached back then and the players he coached now. Back then, he reflected, they had all been about opportunity and responsibility- today they were all about rights and responsibility. Back then it was the all about the team, today it was all about the individual. In many ways that is the sad reflection we see in the world today and that is evident in a world of no-win-no-fee lawyers, a world where the sense of community is dying and where people generally seem out for what they can get while they can get it.In response to this kind of worldview there is something deeply counter-cultural about what Jesus says to His disciples in this verse. It is not just counter-cultural but contrary to our very instinct, against that very strong sense of self that drives us, motivates us and expresses most effectively and most often our sinful nature.

So what Jesus does is provide a choice and a cost. The choice is whether we would follow Jesus- ‘if anyone would come after me.’ There are many choices that we face as to who we follow, how we live, what direction our lives take. Yet this is the question that echoes through all history- would you follow Jesus? Would you follow Him regardless of personal cost, would you do so knowing that it might mean an end to the selfish plans that you have for living for yourself but that you would then live for a greater purpose, for the purpose of God for His glory.

The second thing that Jesus mentions is the cost, denial of self, the very sentence wages war against our natural habits- however much we might pretend or protest otherwise. A.W. Tozer identified the problem that lies in our hearts in regard to this- ‘The average Christian is so cold and contented with his wretched condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the blessed Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness.’ Self-denial is a painful thought, but it was the very pattern of the believers that we find written to in Hebrews 10:34- 'You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.' In the face of great hardship and sacrifice, on their own behalf and on behalf of those around them, there is a clear grasp of the wonder of God’s provision that what was being taken from them was nothing in comparison to what God has promised those who put their trust in Jesus. In living for Jesus we always gain more than we give- the physical cost is compensated for in immeasurable spiritual treasure.

Then finally the cost is that taking up of a cross, Jesus asks us to do nothing in this that He has not already done for us. Our cross may take a variety of forms, that which is in us that must put to death on the cross to produce greater holiness of life will be different from person to person and we can be sure that there is no detour to holiness. Vance Havner says that ‘We have suffered from the preaching of cheap grace. Grace is free, but it is not cheap. People will take anything that is free, but they are not interested in discipleship. They will take Christ as Saviour but not as Lord.’ Will you follow Jesus?

Further thoughts for the day posted daily (Monday-Friday) at: http://www.churchonthehill.co.uk/site/