I have really been struggling. I have been struggling to give my family and my families future to God lately. Things like, "If I give them to God then there is no longer a guarantee that I will be able to get them a house with 3 rooms and a yard to play in....because I can't be sure that is what God really wants for my family." That, and the honest struggle to want to just feel in control and not feel vulnerable by being out of control where my family is concerned.
You are probably already thinking it, but one response is, "Really Nate? How selfish can you be? You are going to ask your family to accept less than God's best simply so that you can feel in control even though you won't actually be in control???" I know. I can't explain it, but it's been a real struggle and I'll leave it at that.
Sunday night's speaker, however, really brought a few things into perspective for me.
Matthew 16:24 (also Mark 8:34 and Luke 9:23) "Then Jesus told His disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'"
The Greek word that is translated Deny in all three of these passages means "to forget one's self" and to "lose sight of one's self and one's own interests."
What I love, as I keep looking at this, is the intentional action that is required. This is not passive and it is not subconscious. To forget one's self and to lose sight of one's self and one's own interests. Man. Imagine the family problems we have that wouldn't exist if we did this a little more. Because we wouldn't be so self-focused that we would be able to hear those around us and respond in a loving way more often than we do now.
The Luke passage (9:23) says "take up his cross daily..." - to take up one's cross is to die to oneself. We think of the cross today and we can have this idea of hope and salvation because we are 2000 years removed from the cross as capital punishment. The cross was an image of not just suffering and anguish (though it certainly was) it was also a brutal way of death. And "daily" also emphasizes the point that this is intentional.
So, forgetting one's self and dying to self so that we can follow Jesus. That is good stuff. However, the clincher was this next verse:
Luke 14:27 - "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."
Key term: disciple - all Apostles (there were 12 originally) are disciples, but not all disciples were apostles. I point this out because we are disciples, although we are not apostles. (Maybe you've never been confused by that, but it used to confuse me a lot.)
That puts a stop to Nate's selfish attitude with his family. It has to. I don't have a choice. For me to be a disciple of Jesus (read: Christian) I have to be willing to take up my cross and follow Jesus. That is to die to self. It is forgetting me and forgetting what I want and choosing to allow God to reign in my life and in my family and to accept His loving best no matter what that looks like.
I'll close with this quote, "Is Christ the master of your life? Have you put to death your own plans and committed yourself to His will for your life? Don't be satisfied with anything less, for there is no greater joy in life than following Christ every day." ...and there is no other way to be His disciple.
To God be the glory.
You are probably already thinking it, but one response is, "Really Nate? How selfish can you be? You are going to ask your family to accept less than God's best simply so that you can feel in control even though you won't actually be in control???" I know. I can't explain it, but it's been a real struggle and I'll leave it at that.
Sunday night's speaker, however, really brought a few things into perspective for me.
Matthew 16:24 (also Mark 8:34 and Luke 9:23) "Then Jesus told His disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'"
The Greek word that is translated Deny in all three of these passages means "to forget one's self" and to "lose sight of one's self and one's own interests."
What I love, as I keep looking at this, is the intentional action that is required. This is not passive and it is not subconscious. To forget one's self and to lose sight of one's self and one's own interests. Man. Imagine the family problems we have that wouldn't exist if we did this a little more. Because we wouldn't be so self-focused that we would be able to hear those around us and respond in a loving way more often than we do now.
The Luke passage (9:23) says "take up his cross daily..." - to take up one's cross is to die to oneself. We think of the cross today and we can have this idea of hope and salvation because we are 2000 years removed from the cross as capital punishment. The cross was an image of not just suffering and anguish (though it certainly was) it was also a brutal way of death. And "daily" also emphasizes the point that this is intentional.
So, forgetting one's self and dying to self so that we can follow Jesus. That is good stuff. However, the clincher was this next verse:
Luke 14:27 - "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."
Key term: disciple - all Apostles (there were 12 originally) are disciples, but not all disciples were apostles. I point this out because we are disciples, although we are not apostles. (Maybe you've never been confused by that, but it used to confuse me a lot.)
That puts a stop to Nate's selfish attitude with his family. It has to. I don't have a choice. For me to be a disciple of Jesus (read: Christian) I have to be willing to take up my cross and follow Jesus. That is to die to self. It is forgetting me and forgetting what I want and choosing to allow God to reign in my life and in my family and to accept His loving best no matter what that looks like.
I'll close with this quote, "Is Christ the master of your life? Have you put to death your own plans and committed yourself to His will for your life? Don't be satisfied with anything less, for there is no greater joy in life than following Christ every day." ...and there is no other way to be His disciple.
To God be the glory.
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