Mark 8:34

 “And calling the crowd to Him with His disciples, He said to them, ‘If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.’” Mark 8:34

Jesus calls us to be fully abandoned to Him, to give up ourselves completely so that we might follow Him. This isn’t His call to a select few of His disciples, but rather a call to all of His disciples. This includes you and me.

I think it’s important to note that while this is Jesus’ call to all believers, the response to this call will mean something different for everyone. Some people may be called to overseas missions, some may be called to go to college, some may be called to working a full time job, and some may be called to stay at home with their family. The Lord has a specific plan and purpose for each one’s life and thus will lead us down different roads, and yet we all start from the same place – the cross. We start at this painful yet beautiful place, and it is here we realize just how much Jesus gave for us and in turn we become willing to give all for Him. It is at the cross that we have to lay down our pride, our fears, our anxieties, our insecurities, our desires, our hopes, our dreams, and our plans. We must lay these things down, and in order to lay these things down we must deny ourselves and instead choose Jesus. This can be an incredibly hard choice to make, and yet we have only to look to the cross and again we will see the height and depth of love with which our Savior loved us. As we kneel before that cross and see again His love we will find ourselves wanting to deny ourselves so that we might be able to fully love this One who so fully loved us. That is what this is all about. It is all about love – Jesus does not want His followers to deny themselves and follow Him out of duty, but out of love.

Daily I need to come to the cross and there again see the great love my Jesus has for me. As a result I will deny myself, take up my cross, and follow hard after Him, and I will do this in response to His love for me, not in guilt or obligation.

Jesus, thank You for denying Yourself to love me. Thank You for taking the cross that should have been mine and walking the hill to Calvary. May I follow in Your footsteps, never forgetting how much You gave, and never forgetting that love is the reason You denied Yourself and carried the cross.

Application: Today I will spend time thanking the Lord for His extravagant love, and I will ask Him to help me remember that love is always to be the motivation behind death to self.