Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it. For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world, and yet loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and that of the Father and the holy angels.” Luke 9:23-26 CSB https://bible.com/bible/1713/luk.9.23-26.CSB
These verses move me like few others. I believe they summarize what God expects from us as Christians, how we are to live this Christian life of faith in Jesus, Who died in our place, taking our punishment for sin and rose from the dead, guaranteeing His promise to us that we will live forever in the kingdom of God. To complete the transaction, we must love our God by obeying His commands. This doesn’t mean our works save us, but it does mean that our works prove Jesus saves us. We must live as Jesus did if we are truly sons of God, just as Jesus had to live as the Son of God to become the Savior of men. So we are to take up our cross, denying our self-centered ways and ends to do God’s work on earth as we prepare to live forever in heaven. This work is winning people to Jesus and teaching them to obey His commands. It must be done where we live among those we know, and it must be done beyond our residence among those whom we don’t know. We must testify to Him locally and pray and give to those who take this message globally. Our entire vocation is to support our work, our life occupation, the advancement of the kingdom of God upon earth as it is in heaven. To live otherwise is to be a double-minded man who is lukewarm, loving both this world and the next. This is not possible for the man of God, the faithful man Jesus warns we must become throughout the gospels and the churches in Revelation, diligent to do His will, working for His glory, so that we might be received as good and faithful servants on that day we meet Him face to face.
