There is this invitation to partake in His suffering. Could one ever be acquainted with pain? The way of the Cross is a daily invitation to die. It was the invitation of Jesus to His disciples on the last Supper.

Will you come and die?

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” Matthew 26:26-30

I just came from a Good Friday service, and my soul feels overwhelmed. Why is it that I never stop failing the One I claim to desperately love? Why is it so hard to live crucified? And the moon is huge tonight, and as always, it is faithfully shining this dark night.

“The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our  lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time—death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call” (The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer). 

When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.

Jesus Christ’s call to die is for our own good. The pain He inflicts in us is for our own good. God desires that we die to lesser things, namely ourselves, so that we might be alive to Him.

“But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him, My father will honor.” John 12:23-26

Lord God, yet again, we come to You knowing that unless a miracle happens in our hearts and minds, we are totally incapable of hating our lives. Jesus, each day we pray that You strengthen us to hate our lives in order to live eternally with You.

When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.

“Unless he obeys, a man cannot believe. How can you hope to enter into communion with Him when at some point in your life you are running away from Him? The man who disobeys cannot believe, for only he who obeys can believe. The gracious call of Jesus now becomes a stern command: Do this! Give up that! Leave the ship and come to me! When a man says he cannot obey the call of Jesus because he believes, or because he does not believe, Jesus says: “First obey, perform the external work, renounce attachments, give up the obstacles which separate you from the will of God. Do not say you have not got faith. You will not have it so long as you persist in disobedience and refuse to take the first step.” (The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Will you obey?

There is nothing that the Lord will ever command us to do that’s not for our good. Sounds straightforward and true, right? But at the core of who we are do we really believe that? Do we really believe that hating our lives is for our good? Because if so, why do we daily struggle to hate our lives? Do we really need further convincing that a life lived for its own amounts to nothing?

As Jesus Christ’s life beckons us to come and follow in His footsteps, are we going to follow Him? Are we going to daily obey His command to come and die if indeed if we want to be His disciples?

“Now great crowds accompanied Him, and he turned and said to them, “if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:25-33

Did you count the cost?

Jesus said that we should count the cost of following Him. In the 21st century that we live in, where we are motivated to raise our hand to receive Jesus Christ in our hearts with soft music playing in the background, are we really counting the cost of following Jesus? Please hear me, I am not saying there is anything wrong with raising one’s hand to accept Jesus Christ as one’s Lord and Savior, but what I am saying is, have we forgotten that there is steep cost of following Jesus? The cost is our lives, our rights, and our desires. We should always remember that God is not desperate to have disciples! Stones are well able to rejoice and praise God (Luke 19:40). We are never doing God a favor by following Him.

“Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
They have knowledge
who carry about their wooden idols,
And keep on praying to a god
That cannot save.
Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
A righteous God and a Savior;
There is none besides Me.

Turn to me and be saved,
All the ends of the earth
For I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
Every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and strength;
To him shall come and be ashamed
all who were incensed against him.
In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory.” Isaiah 45:20-25

By the blood of Jesus Christ, Lord, we come boldly to Your throne of grace, we beg You, rid us of ourselves, strengthen us to daily obey You and to daily surrender to Your will. Father, there is nothing we can do without Your mighty help. We desire to please You and to be Your disciples, we thank You for our helper the Holy Spirit who not only intercedes for us, but Lord, He is the power in us.

“Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross

To your heart
To your heart
Lead me to your heart
Lead me to your heart…” Lead me to the Cross by Hillsong United