Astonishing Obedience

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Mark 8:34-38

There is a phrase in latin, Memento Mori, that translates to either “remember to die” or, “remember you must die.” For some, it is a quip regarding the inevitability of death, a stoic reminder that all of this shall pass. But for the Christian, it has often been used in a different context, one that is usually visually represented less with a skull, and more often with a cross. Remember, Christian, that you have to die.

Our third command from Jesus is not only in line with the first two that we’ve discussed, but it possibly sits at the intersection of the two It is also, perhaps, the most difficult. But please, be encouraged. The fact that you have made it this far should tell you that you are willing to take this next step. After all of the work we have already done to investigate our own hearts, and the influences on them, the final act of dying to oneself is as straightforward as taking a single step, off a ledge, time and time again. 

Here is a simple phrase to hold on to as we take this leap together: you are not the main character of your story. 

In fact, neither are your parents, your CEO, your fiancé, or your classmates. For the Christian, there is but one central figure in the grand narrative of history, and that is Jesus. You play an incredibly important and singular role; you were crafted uniquely and preciously for it, and the details of your story are therefore exquisitely important. Psalm 34 says that, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” In Zephaniah 3, we see God rejoices over His people with gladness and singing. Your story is important, and you are important, but ultimately for the Christian, Jesus, the author and perfector of your faith, the one who by whom and through whom you were created, the one who died on a wooden cross on your behalf, was buried in a borrowed tomb on your behalf, and who will come again in Glory to judge the living and the dead is the main character of all eternity. And he is the main character of your story. Thus enters, Momento Mori.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

At the place where loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself meet, is this incredible command from Jesus, that in order to accomplish those two things, in other words, to be an astonishing disciple of His, one must be willing to take up their cross, and follow Him. Follow him to where? Towards losing your life. Why? Because you are being asked to deny yourself. We live in an age where the prevailing message of the day is to pursue what you want at all costs. To go and get yours. To put yourself first. In many facets of our world, the creeping acceptance of jealousy, envy, greed, and selfishness as best practices has led to a rise in bitterness and hatred, a decline in societal courtesy, and a lust for power. Loving your God with all of your heart, mind, and soul, and certainly loving your neighbor as yourself have been sacrificed on the altar of individualism. But here is the beautiful, and astonishing thing for the Christian today, altars are made for sacrifices. Remember your childhood books, where was it that Aslan allowed himself to be led in order to bring a healing thaw to a world long covered in permafrost? 

Christian, if you long to live a life spent trying to fulfill the two greatest commandments, you will need to heed a third to take up your cross as Jesus did, and to follow him to where he went with it. No, you will most likely not give your life the way he did, nor would your death wipe clean the sins of the world for you are not God. But, dying to yourself is the only way to place God on the highest throne in your heart, mind, and soul; and thinking of yourself less is the only way towards true humility, which is the virtue needed to love others as you love yourself. A proud man, or a proud woman, can realistically do neither. What does this mean for your life? It means that the life you live after making a choice to follow God with astonishing obedience will not, and cannot, look identical to the one you lived before that choice. There is a cost, a sacrifice, necessary to be obedient. 

You will not get to have the last word in every argument, nor will you get to hold unresolved bitterness towards that person afterwards. You won't get to lash out in anger when you want to, or make the hidden, selfish decisions that you might have before. The default setting of your attitude will need to shift to one of turning the other cheek, of seeking peace, and of grace and truth. Said outright, the more your life becomes less consistently and conveniently about you, the more powerfully it will become about Jesus. This is the type of obedience that separates someone who just wears a name tag reading, “christian,” and someone whose name is written in God’s book of life for all eternity. The question left to you is, are you willing to make that trade? 

Jesus, thank you for today, a day where I can make the choice to begin dying to myself daily so that I can live a life of astonishing obedience. I want to take up my cross today, and follow you. I’m beginning to understand what that means, please, through the Holy Spirit, show me.. At my job, in my family, at my school, or even at my church, please open my eyes to the way I have been selfishly living for my own safety and security, living to gain the world without considering what parts of your Kingdom I am giving up to do so. I love you Jesus, and I want to obey your commands, whatever the cost.

Amen.