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“Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10.38-39
“The wealthy would-be disciple was not the only person whose attachment to possessions proved a challenge to his commitment to Christ. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer, martyred by the Nazis, pointed out, the difference between us and the rich man in the story is that Jesus stood before him and did not allow him to reinterpret the Master's words in a more convenient manner. Bonhoeffer claims that the man's honesty in rejecting Jesus' command was better than disobedience that pretends to be obedience today (1963:88). He compares a boy told by his father to go to bed; the boy has studied theology, however, so he is now intelligent enough to reason, "Father tells me to go to bed, but he really means that I am tired, and he does not want me to be tired. I can overcome my tiredness just as well if I go out and play." But a child offering such arguments to his father would likely meet with language or an experience he would have to interpret more literally, as would a citizen with her government-or a disciple who reasons away God's demands. (Bonhoeffer 1963:90).”
Craig S. Keener
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That’s a great example of the boy, and very true.. I hope I never meet such a terror… (breed such a terror?:))
It’s really easy to explain away God’s commandments and turn them into something optional… “Love your neighbour as yourself” is Jesus’ command to us --- but we could dilute it by adding “if you feel like it, when it’s convenient, if you don’t have other more pressing obligations, etc.” There’s something powerful about radically following the message of Jesus; how will the world become tomorrow if I choose today to live out God’s love, to serve my neighbour, to love my enemy – especially when it’s not convenient, when I’m feeling tired, when I would much prefer upgrading my wonderful self, or accumulate more $... I believe that God’s commands are commands, not options, and when Jesus was on earth He meant what He said… To respond to this message requires of me to live my life differently, to be transformed, renewed and guided by the Holy Spirit.
Lord, show me how to follow You, show me how to Love my neighbour, teach me to be a disciple. Amen.
All this has to do with leaving behind your own self, your own projejcts and decisions, and taking the self which Jesus wants, and which God has created for you. This ia important for me, because it has to do with dying. The commandment to the rich man was not really about voluntary poverty per se, but about dying to who he was, i.e., dying to his possessions. Voluntary poverty comes only after one has died to who one is. The same with the cross, which is about dying to a live of success, universal approval, and being reborn in a life of failure and rejection for Christ; rather, dying to the success that is our own success, accepting that no success is our own, and being reborn to the success which Christ has planned for us. This is discipleship. As William James said: Sincerely to give up one's attempt to be good in one's own right is the key to the universe's deeper reaches.
This is an important verse, and it’s certainly something I need to work on. It’s so easy to say you’ll do something, and a lot harder to actually do it. I do try to take up my cross and follow Jesus on a regular basis, but the important thing is that I can’t to it on my own. I absolutely need His help. So I’m glad I read this verse and these comments. They help me in small ways to finally reach the point where I’ll feel I’ve truly taken up my cross and followed Jesus the way he would have me do. And that, if the time ever comes, I will be ready and willing to lay down my life for Him, too.
I try everyday to live a life God would, to love others as He loves us. Without Him, I will never get even close to this.
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