“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” – Jesus Christ

On six separate occasions we read these or similar words of Jesus spoken to His disciples.  How is denying oneself, losing one’s life for His sake, defined by Jesus?

Crucifixion – “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me.”  When Jesus picked up His cross, He carried only for the purpose of His own death. When He spoke these words to them, I am certain they wondered at the meaning. His crucifixion was not on their radar.

On the day of His death, my guess is His disciples were startled. What else would they feel, realizing the connection between His words and what was happening at that moment?

Some have taught that to carry one’s cross is to carry heavy burdens. The biblical context for the cross is never burdens, but always an instrument of death. For Christ, the death of self. For us, the death to self.

In Luke 14, Jesus is abundantly clear about the meaning of the cross for any true disciple:

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple…So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”

True disciples give up possession of our own life and living.  Possessing all our relationships.  Possessing our will, our self-directing and self-protecting.  Possessing all things and all experiences.

Jesus is unequivocal. If we do not obey in this, we can’t be His disciple. He allows no third way, no back door, no lesser commitment.

Why is Jesus so exacting?

Because when we control our own lives and possessions, we lose the biggest life possible for us. Keeping ownership and management over our lives means we will completely miss our very best life.

We were meant to be vessels filled with the very life of our God.  John 17 has the words of Jesus as He prayed to His Father about His disciples:

“I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in (into) Me through their word,that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in (into) unity.”

Jesus offers us His very life and that of the Father lived in place of our own. Life can’t get bigger or better than that. This divine life is given to true disciples now and for eternity.

Now that’s living without limit!