If anyone wants to follow after Me, let him deny himself.
Matthew 16:24
There are so many things in life that I want. I would love to be a body-builder, but what are the chances? I have a desire to write a book, but what are the chances? I want to have a perfectly manicured yard, but there’s no chance of that. My personal goal is to weigh what I did when I graduated from college, but that will never happen.
Why will these things never happen? It’s because I might have the desire, but I don’t have the drive needed to get those things accomplished.
It’s the same way with Jesus. He offers the opportunity for people to follow Him. But will we? Will we follow Him?
To follow Jesus means more than desire
Some so many people walked down aisles of churches, talked with pastors, felt sorry for their sins, and believe they made a decision to follow Jesus. Jesus puts it clear to us that the first part of following Him is to want to do it. Remember, Jesus is having this conversation with His closest friends, His disciples. This conversation is right after Peter rebuked Jesus, and Jesus rebuked Peter. Jesus was trying to get something across to his disciples that they didn’t previously understand.
“Do you want to follow me? Do you really want to follow me?” I think this is one of the most confrontational passages in Scripture and one that calls us to consider the cost of placing our faith in Jesus. Following Jesus costs everything.
To follow Jesus means self-denial
Jesus did not mean to think of yourself as someone worthless and without purpose or meaning. He didn’t mean for you to walk around with your head down while weeping. When Jesus said to “deny yourself,” He meant to put His priorities first in your life. What He wants should be what you want. While this sounds easy, it isn’t. This injection of His priorities in our lives is not something that happens simply because of a desire to do it. It happens because we have the devotion and discipline to make it happen. Do you?
Desire without devotion and discipline is only a distant dream. It’s a dream that never happens and becomes a weight around our necks because it is always in the back of our minds.
Ever purchased a treadmill? Did it eventually become a rack for your clothes? You may have had the desire to use it and become more healthy, but if you don’t have the devotion and discipline to wake up early and actually walk on it, it quickly becomes a piece of unused furniture that holds shirts and pants.
So do you see what Jesus is saying? If you want to follow Him, if you really have a desire to follow Him, it’s going to take more than “want to.”
You’ll have to place your preferences under the authority of Jesus and to replace your preferences with His priorities, but embracing His priorities is not easy. It takes discipline.
Do you have the discipline to make it happen? Denying ourselves is difficult because we are so self-focused. When you master this first step, it makes the next requirements a little easier.
A prayer…
Jesus, I have been selfish and self-focused most of my life. I tend to do what I want to do more often than I do what You want me to do. Help me to have more than just a desire to follow You. I know I cannot do it without your help. Help me to have the discipline needed to make Your priorities my priorities. Please help me to put others first when I would rather satisfy my desires.