Embracing the Cross
Living Like Jesus By Denying Self
Today is the Friday of Holy Week. This is the journey of Christ to the cross. This is the darkest day that brought brightness. This is the culmination of the light shining in the darkness, and the darkness not overcoming it (John 1:5). This is the day that Jesus died on the cross for us! The day that called each of us to obey his words…
“If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. - Matthew 16:24 CSB
Jesus calls us to follow him, and following Jesus means following His steps down the path to the cross. This path is the one we must walk down each day—a path that ends in being drawn—drawn toward Christ or drawn toward the world. Walter Brueggemann shares the following in his wonderful Lenten devotions book, A Way other than Our Own.
Lent is the time we stand, each of us—liberal and conservative—just between the Lord of suffering love and the ruler of this world. We stand there pulled in both directions and sense the enormous ambiguity of our life, wishing to care and be generous but wanting also to be selfish and have it our own way. …We are all in this process. We are being drawn toward. We are being drawn away.
The Internal Struggle
What causes us to be drawn away from Jesus and toward the world? We have an internal compass called selfishness. If we are honest, every one of us is selfish! Oh, there are times when we are magnanimous, but deep inside, we really want our own way. In reality, we are like toddlers who never want to share our toys. This creates an inner tension, because we know that Jesus said we are to deny self.
The Apostle Paul understood this struggle intimately. In his letter to the Romans, he shared his struggle to live in obedience to Christ.
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do... For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” - Romans 7:15-19
This is the human condition—we are caught between our desire to follow Christ and our natural inclination toward selfishness and self-gratification. We think that the only way to succeed and live the good life is to put ourselves first. Deny ourselves! That is mere stupidity. That makes no sense at all. Yet, Jesus said he came to give us life in its fullness if we follow him (John 10:10). His ways make little sense because they are counterintuitive and countercultural. To deny ourselves goes against our fallen nature in so many ways. Which means that, by our intellect and by society, we are naturally drawn toward the world, not toward Jesus.
The Paradox of Kingdom Values
If we put Jesus first and obey him, he calls us to take up our cross. But what does that mean? Jesus sets the example of denying self, not only by going to the cross, but also in what he taught. Consider his teaching on the Kingdom of God:
The last shall be first
The least shall be the greatest.
Love and pray for your enemies
Turn the other cheek
Don’t store up treasures on earth
Don’t worry
We think that these do not make logical and practical sense. So, it is easy to travel down the path of the world. It is easy to say to ourselves, “Jesus was just using a metaphor when he said that we are to deny ourselves and take up our crosses.” Yes, Jesus used metaphors, and this, in a way, is a mixed metaphor. The first part is real (not a metaphor) that directs the metaphorical second part.
The Reality of Self-Denial
Denying ourselves is not just a saying; it is the real life Jesus calls us to in our real world. How then do we live it? Denying ourselves begins with an attitude of complete obedience to Jesus. If we obey him and his teachings, then denying self naturally falls into place. That is because we can’t obey him without denying ourselves. He becomes first place in our lives. He “calls the shots.” We want to please him above all else.
If we put Jesus first and obey him, he calls us to take up our cross. But what does that mean? Think about where Jesus came from and what led him to die for our sins on the cross. He left the majesty of heaven and was able to go to the cross by denying himself. Consider his words in the Garden of Gethsemane as he prayed that he might not have to go to the cross.
He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” - Matthew 26:39 NLT.
The Essence of Self-Denial
“Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” That is the essence of denying self and taking up our cross. That is the path we must walk down. We don’t know where it leads. We do not know what it entails. We only know that we must deny ourselves like our Savior, and God will bring into our lives whatever it is he wants us to experience. Taking up our cross is an attitude of denying self and humbly submitting to God’s will.
When we embrace the cross, we embrace not only the joy of our salvation but also the obligation to deny ourselves for the glory of God. Jesus died for us! We need to live for him by denying self and living in obedience to him. In 1 Peter 2:21, we are reminded:
“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”
Living it Out
When we embrace the cross, we embrace not only the joy of our salvation but also the obligation to deny ourselves to God. Jesus died for us! We need to live for him by denying self and living in obedience to him. This is not a burden but a privilege—the privilege of being conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29) and of participating in his redemptive work in the world.
As we journey through Holy Week and beyond, may we remember that embracing the cross is embracing life itself—true, abundant, eternal life found only in Christ.