SHARING BREAD
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take
up his cross and follow me. 25 For
whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me
will find it. 26 What
good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?
Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his
Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according
to what he has done. 28 I
tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they
see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Matt
16:24-28 (NIV)
The Lord Jesus states similar Words presented in our verses
for today earlier in Matthew - red flagging us of their importance. Indeed, these Words are included in like
fashion by Him in all four Gospels:
37 “Anyone who loves his father
or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take
his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will
lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matt 10:37-39 (NIV)
Jesus is to be first in our lives and we as His followers are
to be cross-bearers. Our Lord could not
be clearer: a true disciple of Christ
must take up his/her cross and follow in the Master’s footsteps. He set forth the example of faith for us to
follow and we are to fix our eyes upon Him.
Paul tells us in Philippians:
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own
interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ
Jesus: 6 Who, being
in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made
himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human
likeness. 8 And being
found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--
even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him
the name that is above every name, 10 that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, 11 and every
tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:3-11 (NIV)
So how are we doing in this highly important endeavor? Do we even know what that entails? I have found in my studies of God’s Word that
He does not mindlessly throw Words out for us to simply disregard and ignore. It does us much harm as all He requires of us
is always for our good. Remember as
well, His Word is alive, active, perfect and penetrating. Scripture tells us:
5 “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to
those who take refuge in him. 6 Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and
prove you a liar.” Prov 30:5-6 (NIV)
In Jesus’ time Roman criminals were forced to carry their
own cross as a tacit admission that the Roman Empire was correct in executing the
death sentence on him. In like fashion,
disciples were to take up their cross as an indication of admission to Jesus’ right
over their lives. In so doing, the
believer swaps the empty dead way of life for the life of fullness and
abundance Christ came to give. Sounds
like a no-brainer to me!
10 “The thief comes only to steal
and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the
full.” John 10:10 (NIV)
Self-denial is a difficult lesson and cuts across the grain
of flesh and blood. We are often
affronted by and bow up at the very thought of it. We are all about us – gratifying our own
natures, seeking our own ways. Yet, self-denial
is the fundamental law of admission into Christ’s school. We must not be admirers of our own shadows
seeking only our own end. We do so to
our own ruin. Many a soul has ruined
their eternal interest by a preposterous and inordinate care of the temporary -
the tyranny of the tangible. The loss of
a soul is such a great loss that the gain of the whole world does not make up
for it. A soul is worth more than all
the wealth, honor and pleasures of this day.
The winning of the world is oftentimes the loosing of the soul. The great encouragement of steadfastness to
faith is to dwell on the Lord’s inevitable return in all His glory.
“Costly
grace is the Gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must
be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to
follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life,
and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and
grace because it justifies the sinner.
Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son. ‘Ye were bought at a price,’ and what has
cost God much cannot be cheap for us.
Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a
price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the incarnation of God.” Dietrich
Bonheoffer “The Cost of Discipleship”
What I glean from this:
· Jesus
calls me to deny self, take up my cross and follow Him.
· I am to
fix my eyes on Jesus the Author and Perfecter of my faith.
· I am not
my own, I have been bought by an extraordinarily high price.
