“The true deep crisis of abandonment, or total surrender, is reached internally, not externally. The giving up of only external things may actually be an indication of your being in total bondage. Have you deliberately committed your will to Jesus Christ?” – Oswald Chamber, My Utmost for His Highest
It’s easy to say we believe in Jesus, but following HIm–becoming a disciple of Christ–has a great cost. It demands sacrifice.
Jesus says in Luke 9:23,”If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Sometimes we focus on the latter part of this verse and gloss over the requirement that we “deny” ourselves.
The word translated “deny” in this verse is aparneomai, and it means “to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests.”
We in America are a strong-willed people, and determination and perseverance have their virtues to be sure. But following Christ means we must surrender our wills to Him. We must lose sight of ourselves and our own interests. Sometimes this means giving up dreams, giving up goals, even giving up what we think makes us “us”. But that is the price of surrender.
And when we realize what we gain–Jesus–it is worth it all.
Beautifully written and so very accurate….