24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.25If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.26And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?27For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.28And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”This is a call to real self inspection and change. Jesus is obviously calling us to live in service of others. Giving up my life is to stop living for what is best for me. I am not to be number one.
For Jesus, the cross was a sacrifice totally and complete done for others. When Jesus tells us to take up our cross, I don’t think he means something we suffer with in life. I think he means to take up a life of selflessness and servitude. That is what his cross was and that is our cross. Start with the people you are closest to and work your way out. Do you truly put their interest before your own? How about the most difficult relationship in your life? How would it change if you stopped worrying about how much they hurt you and instead considered how much you could help them?
Lord, I have a very long way to go. I don’t have to move past the people closes to me to see where I have dropped my cross and took back up my own life. Change me Lord.
Do you have a story of a time when you were able to be totally selfless, and the person who gained the most was you? Beginner’s Online Bible Study *obbs*