“Then he
said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and
take up their cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses
their life for me will save it. What
good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their
very self?’” (Luke 6:23-25)
What type
of life is Jesus speaking of here? Is it
physical life? Are people going to have
to die to follow Him? In a manner of
speaking - yes. Physically? No.
Their old way of life is what’s going to have to die. They will have to let it go.
Let’s use the following illustration for clarification: Say you have a big balloon on a string. You love that balloon. A gust of wind comes and tugs at the balloon. You hold tight to the string, not wanting to let it go. The balloon is your lifestyle. The string shows that you are tethered to it. The wind is the Holy Spirit. To have it jerked from your grasp by the wind is no good, because you can always go get another balloon. God will not forcibly take away the lifestyle that flies in the face of His standards. His desire is for us to release the string of our own accord. It’s the only way we can move forward in Christ. To let go of past habits and associations that inflict us with ungodly characteristics is the only way to acquire all God wishes us to have. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!
Let’s use the following illustration for clarification: Say you have a big balloon on a string. You love that balloon. A gust of wind comes and tugs at the balloon. You hold tight to the string, not wanting to let it go. The balloon is your lifestyle. The string shows that you are tethered to it. The wind is the Holy Spirit. To have it jerked from your grasp by the wind is no good, because you can always go get another balloon. God will not forcibly take away the lifestyle that flies in the face of His standards. His desire is for us to release the string of our own accord. It’s the only way we can move forward in Christ. To let go of past habits and associations that inflict us with ungodly characteristics is the only way to acquire all God wishes us to have. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!
