“As massive crowds followed Jesus, he turned to them and said, “When you follow me as my disciple, you must put aside your father, your mother, your wife, your sisters, your brothers; it will even seem as though you hate your own life. This is the price you’ll pay to be considered one of my followers. Anyone who comes to me must be willing to share my cross and experience it as his own, or he cannot be considered to be my disciple. So don’t follow me without considering what it will cost you.” (Luke 14:25-28a TPT)
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2 NKJV)
“Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.” So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Mark 10:28-31 NKJV)
I am going to begin today by reminding myself of both the disclaimer and the definition that I laid as a foundation for this discussion of “Suffering FOR Christ”…
…DISCLAIMER: Self-denial is not self-hatred or self-abasement. It is not creating ways to put myself through self produced abuse and agony. It is not a way of paying for my sin and degradation. It is not demeaning and diminishing myself on a life pilgrimage to appease an angry God and earn my way back into his good graces. It is not denying myself the joy of experiencing the blessings that were bestowed on me by my Father and restored to me by the finished work of Christ.
…DEFINITION: Self-denial is the process of forsaking my own aspirations and agendas as I submit to the higher calling of my Creator while continuing to recognize and embrace my self-worth as one who is created in his image and likeness. It is unlocking my true worth and value by acknowledging someone greater than myself and submitting to his direction for my life. This is a self chosen process, under the guidance and leadership of the Holy Spirit, which creates the inner pain of self sacrifice, submission, and humility. As in other Kingdom life principles and practices it works from the inside-out.
I began building on this foundation by taking a look at the “Pain of Self-Denial – Submission.” If you have ever submitted yourself to an authority (parent, boss, etc.) or a partner (spouse, business partner, etc.) then you have a sense of how it feels to submit your desires for the desires of someone else. This can be painful. At the offset of becoming a disciple is the expectation that I willingly submit my life to Christ. I submit my hopes, dreams, goals, and the planned direction of my life to his Lordship. This may also include self-sacrifice.
The Apostle Paul described the idea of self-sacrifice as dying to self. He explained that he was willing to sacrifice everything, up to and including his life, for the sake of the Gospel and those to whom he was called to share the Gospel with. He said that he faced death daily. He was willing to be beaten and imprisoned as a follower of Jesus Christ. After all, Jesus laid down his life for Paul. He also gave his life for me and for you.
Just as the cross came before the resurrection, sacrifice comes before restoration. Suffering will many times come before satisfaction, just like pain coming before gain. Sacrifice is not forced upon me by the Father or Son. It is a choice that I make. It is a choice that begins with pain and ends in overflowing blessing. I need to stop at this point to remind myself that I am not sacrificing in order to earn blessing.
I am blessed simply because God is Love and God is Good. It is his nature and character to give. I am willing to submit and sacrifice in response to what the Lord has already done for me. He has already given me great and precious promises. He has already “saved” me apart from anything that I did or did not do. He has already given me everything that pertains to both life (my “natural” life) and godliness (my spiritual life). He loved me before I ever began to follow him. His love is completely unconditional and his grace (favor) is completely unmerited. I am blessed, therefore I am obedient.
I sacrifice my soul (mind) and my body in the service and worship of the one that I follow. I sacrifice my family for the sake of the Gospel. I sacrifice all of my earthly goods (house, possessions, money, etc.) to follow the one who sacrificed his life for me. I place Jesus first and foremost before anyone or anything that is near and dear to me. I do this out of love and obedience claiming by faith the promise that it will all be returned and restored far above what I originally sacrificed “now in this time…and in the age to come eternal life.”
Let’s sacrifice some time to further consider…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 415: Discerned Suffering: Suffering FOR Christ: The Pain of Self-Denial – Sacrifice