‘Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow Me.” – Luke 9:23 (NLT)
We often focus on Jesus’ mission on the earth to save us from our sins. As marvellous as that is, it’s critical for us to also grasp the importance of His mission on earth as a Rabbi / Teacher. His goal was to raise up disciples to become like Him.
As a follower of Jesus, you are still called to live out the adventure of discipleship, becoming like Him through the power of His Spirit at work within you. To do this, you must tune in to what He says in the Gospels.
In our key Scripture verse (Luke 9:23), Jesus demands total commitment from His followers. There are at least three conditions that must be met by people who want to follow Jesus:
- You must be willing to deny yourself
- Be willing to shoulder your cross
- Follow Him
Anything less is superficial to service.
Likewise, Matthew 10:38 speaks of taking up your cross, following Jesus, publicly identifying with Him, experiencing certain opposition, and being willing to face even suffering and death for His sake.
In a collapsing world, do we still need to follow Jesus? YES. God gave Jesus authority over heaven and earth, and that same authority has been given to us. Jesus told His disciples to make more disciples as they preached, baptised, and taught. With this same authority, Jesus still commands us to tell others the Good News and make them disciples of the Kingdom (Matthew 28:19).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I commit to Your discipleship. Help me to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow You daily. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Read: 1 Kings 8:61; Matthew 10:34-39
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 33:12-22; Luke 1:26-38; Numbers 1; Numbers 2:1-9
