That is a very well known verse, however, we usually don't take time to really listen to what it is saying. If we want to follow Christ, we must first deny ourselves. We have to be willing to give up EVERYTHING we have for The King of Kings. Anything that He has for us, is so much better than what we have or could ever hope to have.
***Taking up our cross is self denial. We need to refuse to settle for anything less that the very best... Which is God. It also means torture or persecution. Jesus went through so much for us... Are we willing to do the same for Him? No pain, no gain. Are we willing to suffer temporal pain for eternal gain? And lastly, it means death. We need to die to self, die to pride, die to sin, die to anything that goes against what God says***
The last part is the most important part. (In my opinion.) We need to FOLLOW Him. Not just say we do, we really need to follow. That means waiting on His timing and not rushing it and going with what you had planned. It means being obedient to His calling and being willing to go where He wants you to go. Its trusting in Him even when things get tough. It's knowing that He wont fail you... EVER!! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We are called to be holy as He is holy. We can't do it on our own, and if we aren't committed to Christ, there is no way that we will ever be holy. As we draw nearer to Him, and let Him change us, that is when we will start looking more like Christ. Its not a pain free experience. He will stretch us and take us out of our comfort zone. He knows where our hearts are, but He is testing us to see if we will follow Him.
The saying "Follow me because I follow Christ" is very heavy. If we say it, we cant be hypocritical about it. The word "Christian" literally means "little Christ". So many of us "Christians" are going around and saying we are following Christ, but are living the exact opposite. We can't say we are living like Christ, while we are really living like the devil. It can't happen. If we don't look like what we are proclaiming, its time to take a step back, pray and see what isn't lining up with what we are saying. We cant expect people to want to be a follower of Christ if we are living the same way that they are. That is what drives people away from the church and from Christianity in general. We have such a double standard as Christians and tend to live hypocritically. Its time to change. Its time to get real with God. Its time to start living out your faith and truly start following Christ.
(I wrote this with only myself in mind... However, I hope that it opened your eyes to how much this nation needs God. And it won't ever reach it unless we change first. Pray, "Lord, send revival... And start it in Me!"
We need God to change this nation.. but it won't happen without prayer. We need change, but we need God more.)
***www.markbatterson.com***
