Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Matthew 16:24 NKJV
What does it mean to “deny himself”? Jesus said if we desire to come after Him, we must deny our selves. What does that mean?
I can first tell you what it does NOT mean. It doesn’t mean an end to fun. It doesn’t mean we will live our lives like little robots. The Christian life is one of fun and adventure; joy and peace. Jesus came to “give us life” and to give it to us “more abundantly”. The Christian life was never intended to be boring.
What it does mean to deny self is to deny ourselves the privilege of making up our own mind. As a Christian, we are bound to God through Jesus Christ. Paul goes to great lengths in his writing, however, to explain that this is not bondage as in slavery, but rather it is the freedom of grace. That is not a license to sin, but a freedom from the power of sin in our life. The Christian is free to live his life in a way that honors God.
One thing I think most people tend to overlook is the fact that God’s way really does work best. God is not some arbitrary rule maker, He really does plan only the best for His children. We can walk in obedience, because we know that God’s love for us will never take us somewhere that His grace cannot protect us.
We can deny ourselves the right to make decisions about our life, because we can know that God is in the driver’s seat, and He is working all things for good!
Interested in getting
Mustard Seed Thoughts in your email box?
Enter your email below to add or update your subscriptions to
Mustard Seed Thoughts.
I may not see in front of me, But I can see for miles around when I look over my shoulder, and Lord, it`s clear. You`ve brought me here, So faithful every step of the way. What can I do but follow you, For You are the Way, the Truth, the Life, And You`ve promised never to leave me, My Savior, my friend, From beginning to end. 
RSS Feed