Gentle Reader,
“Then He said to them all, “’If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?'” – Luke 9:23-25 (NKJV)
I am in a state of denial. Well, maybe denial isn’t the right word. It’s more “can we please get this over with so I don’t have to think about it anymore?” I’m doing everything I can to avoid dwelling on the situation. (Aren’t I so vague? Promise I’m not being coy. I just don’t want to get into what’s happening at the moment. We’ll go there later. Cut me some slack for now).
These words of our Lord…they poke at me. They challenge my avoidance. Being with Jesus means suffering. There are many levels to that; sometimes suffering looks like letting go of certain well-loved habits and sometimes it looks like persecution. Sometimes it looks like facing reality. Whatever it is,
“…life in the world will not involve an easy, stressless trip into glory.” (IVP Commentary, found under the “Study This” tab).
There are days when I simply want to give up.
But then those words.
What good is it to gain the whole world but wind up being destroyed?
I’m not making a concrete point today, I know. I don’t have a sound-bite for you to tweet. All I have is an undefinable set of emotions. I thank God that He is strong and ever-faithful when I am weak and ready to flee.
For all entries in the Jesus: 31 Days with the Savior series, go here.