Denying Self

Series: Jesus, You Make Me Nervous

Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” That scares me. That makes me nervous. I like all of Jesus’ feel good statements. I love how He welcomes sinners. I love how the Gospels portray Him as ‘seeking and saving the lost.’

But, His demands can be scary. Are you telling me that following Jesus is going to cost me something? Are you saying there is a cost involved in following Jesus?

I like it so much better to be on the receiving end. Isn’t it nicer to think about grace and forgiveness and all that Jesus offers us than to think about THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP? And yet, Jesus’ demands upon us cannot be ignored.

What does it mean to ‘deny myself’? All of us have probably experienced self-denial in some form. Maybe it was dieting. Maybe it was exercise. If you have been on a team, you likely had to experience some self-denial. Jesus tells us that we have to say ‘no’ to ourselves in relationship to some things. Following Jesus means giving up some things. It may be people. It may be activities. When we decide to follow Jesus, we decide that some of the things we choose for our lives change.

I heard a story about two sisters who became Christians. They lived in smaller town and they were definitely ‘party girls’. Their reputations were well known. Not long after becoming Christians, they received an invitation to a party with an RSVP. The sisters knew the kind of party they were being invited to. They returned the invitation’s RSVP with this response. ‘We cannot come because WE ARE DEAD.’ Their lives had changed. They had decided to follow Jesus, and that meant denying themselves pleasures that they had once indulged in.
Do the demands of Jesus make you nervous? As we think about following Jesus, we need to take seriously the ‘cost’ as well as the rewards.

Prayer: Father, thank you for the tremendous price you paid for me. It cost you your most costly asset. Please help us be willing to pay the price of discipleship—to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses and follow you.

Terry Brown

Abilene, Texas