Made for More | True Discipleship

We get told a thousand times a day what our best life should be like. We live in a world saturated with messages all designed to manipulate our desires and hopes. And of course there’s a million products and causes that promise to give us what we long for. But true meaning and purpose can only be found by embracing a life that offers the exact opposite.

In Romans 8.29 Paul tells us that...

“God called us and chose us to become like his Son.”

In other words, you were chosen by God to become more like Jesus, to be a ‘disciple’. We can never discover our true purpose by pursuing what this world has to offer, because we were made for more. The only way to experience God’s full purpose for your life is to become more like Jesus. But there’s a problem. Following Jesus always includes a cross, because his priorities are very different than ours.

A Jesus-Shaped Life

One day when Jesus was on a road trip with his disciples he decided it was time to explain his purpose. He started the conversation with a question. “Who do you guys think I am?”

Peter’s answer is on the money. He’s convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, the one who is going to save God’s people and transform everything. In fact, in Matthew's biography we’re told that this is the moment where Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter - alerting us to the fact that he’s had a profound revelation about who Jesus really is. However, as Jesus unpacks his ultimate mission, Peter gets confused. When Jesus predicts his arrest and execution, Peter tries to talk him out of it. His human perspective can’t understand how that could possibly be God’s purpose for the Messiah.

He’s come a long way from that first day on the shores of Galilee, but Jesus dying on a cross just doesn’t make any sense. How could God’s plan involve rejection and suffering?

Made For My Own Personal Cross

Jesus responds by spelling out explicitly the paradox of faith. It’s not until we surrender our ambitions and priorities that God can unlock His best in our lives. It’s only when we accept the path of complete trust and self-denial that we’ll experience the miracle of God’s life at work in us. That’s the only kind of disciple Jesus has, men and women who take up their cross.

Just. Like. Jesus.

The lie of this world is that our best life is all about comfort and prosperity; avoiding hardship and sacrifice at all costs; doing everything in our power to hold onto what’s ours and to control our future. But faith is the opposite; letting go of the very things that make us feel safe and secure; risking our reputation; getting out of our comfort zone and embracing opportunities to grow.

We were put on this planet to walk with God, to find our identity and security in Him. There’s no other way to discover our ultimate purpose than to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. It’s meant to be an adventure. You were made for more. You were made to be like Jesus, to experience the miracle of God’s goodness, in the letting go.

Your best life is found right behind Jesus. This is how God unlocks His purpose for our lives. Trusting him one day at a time.

Reflection Questions

1. Self-denial is about letting go of false security and false comforts. What am I willing to let go of?
2. Is there anything new, or something more, that God is calling me to trust Him in?
3. Whose life always inspires me to follow Jesus? How can I stay close to them?