A full commitment
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. Luke 9:23-24
Jesus expects us to commit to Him above all things. We need to put “first things first.” This isn't a matter of theory, but of reality and experience. A Christian life without total commitment to God will not work well and the fullness of Christ cannot be experienced.
In today's key verse, one who wants to save his life will lose it. But Jesus promises that if we give our lives to Him, He will give us a better, more abundant life. It will take radical abandonment and total commitment to exchange our emptiness for His fullness.
The first step toward abandonment is to deny ourselves. We deny ourselves by letting go of our selfish desires and self-preservation mode. God is given total control when we give ourselves over to Him. The next step is to follow Jesus and take up the cross; following does not mean walking behind Him, but choosing to walk the same path He did, like submitting, serving, and sacrificing. Rather than living for ourselves, we live for the gospel fully without holding back.
Every relationship, including our relationship with God, is built upon commitment. We don't want to be half-hearted with God. Christ committed himself to God, entrusting his spirit to Him, and He committed himself to us when he suffered and died for us. Jesus died costly, and He paid the price for us all. In the same way, following Christ is also costly. However, when we truly understand the value of the cross, we are ready to make the commitment and pay the price to follow Jesus. .
Jesus said we cannot become His disciples if we do not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own lives.(Luke 14:26) He does not mean literally to hate our family, but He wants us to be the priority in our lives. Quite often, we place our families and children above God and nothing, not even family, should come before God.
Let's live with abandonment and keep our commitment to Jesus. Although it may seem countercultural, God promises us a transformed life that comes with the fullness of God. It is worth the cost to follow Jesus and has tremendous eternal value.
Blessing prayer: Thank you for calling us to follow you, deny ourselves, and take up the cross daily. We place Jesus before everything else in this world, and nothing can hold us back. In Jesus’ name, Amen
