Jesus: The Man Who Changed Historyنموونە

People have many choices to make in life.

But if you’re a Christian, Jesus says that your life is no longer your own.

Mark 8:34

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Jesus tells his disciples to deny themselves.

It means no longer living for themselves but for God and for others.

“Taking up your cross” might be a figure of speech for us.

But it was a powerful image for the people of Jesus’ day.

Crucifixion was a form of public execution.

It was a humiliating way to die.

It is striking that this image describes what following Jesus is going to look like, and feel like.

We have to be willing to suffer the same rejection in this world that Jesus suffered.

Jesus is so honest. It’s one of the things that makes you want to listen to him.

Following Jesus is a costly thing to do.

It may cost us in our relationships, our careers, our comfort.

In some parts of the world, it could cost you your life.

In 2019, a report was produced for the UK Government which said,

“It is estimated that one third of the world’s population suffers from religious persecution in some form, with Christians being the most persecuted group.”

So isn’t there just too much to lose? Isn’t it too risky?

Isn’t Jesus asking too much?

Mark 8:36

“What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?”

You could have everything the world has to offer you.

But Jesus is saying that life without him is no life at all.

We can trust our whole lives, and even our deaths, into his hands.

Jesus never calls us to do something he has not first done.

He never calls us to go somewhere he has not first gone.

It is good news, and there is great joy in following Jesus.

The message of the Christian gospel is that dying to yourself by following Jesus brings you life in all of its fullness.