Die to self... Sounds harsh. Sounds displeasing to the flesh, right? What if I told you that is something your Savior is requiring of you? Whenever Christ calls us to Himself, He is wanting to rid us of ourselves and become more like Him. What is the goal? To come to Christ and just simply observe what He does? No! It is to become like Him. It's to become partakers. Say you wanted to become an athlete, and you want to make it to the league. You're not just wanting to play college basketball, but you want to be drafted. Will you get there just by observing the players on the screen and just going to the games? Or must you experience what a player actually experiences? You have to sweat a little bit, see what it's like to practice day in and day out, maybe even miss sleep over it. What's the word we are getting at?
Sacrifice.
Its natural definition put it like this:
To give up (something important or valued) for the sake of other considerations.
Paul put it like this:
"I want to know Christ and the power that raised him from the dead. I want to share in His sufferings and become like Him in his death." Philippians 3:10-12. Earlier in that chapter he stated how he counted the former things as loss so that He may win Christ. See, Paul compared a believer's walk to a race that he not only wanted to complete but he wanted the prize. "Run in a way to win the prize.". Why did he say that? Have you ever seen a race? Notice how everyone may cross the finish line, but only one person gets there first. That person may have trained harder; they may have understood that it was not only a trophy but a heart's desire. Once they won it, it was not only a crown, but there was a story behind it. A mindset of "I wanted it that bad.". That person laid aside every weight that hindered them from accomplishing that goal. They sacrificed.
What does it look like to die daily?
Your Savior said anyone who wants to follow me must deny themselves and carry their cross daily.
Sometimes?
Daily.
Every other day?
Daily.
When It is only beneficial for me?
Daily.
Carrying one's cross isn't something you do when you feel like it. It's a commitment, and when you committed yourself to Christ, your actions were showing that you love Him, and love is not a feeling. It's a commitment. It's not easy, and it shouldn't be. When Christ showed His commitment to us, do we think it was easy? In the garden of Gethsemane, He stated, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as you will." So yes, it was hard for Him, but notice what He said here.
Nevertheless.
So I say to you, Yes, life may get hard, but nevertheless,. Yes, dying daily is sacrificial, but nevertheless, may you be like your Savior and say, "Not my will, but your will be done." In other words, "I deny what I want for you." John 3:30
Let's navigate into a very popular verse in the New Testament.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1
A living sacrifice? How can something that is living be a sacrifice? It's because you are dying to be pleasing to Him daily. What does Christ want with our carnal actions and ways of thinking? The only thing He wants with it is to change it, to mold it, to shape it into the image of Christ. So we may be living, but our flesh is dying. Paul said it is no longer he that lives but Christ that lives in him. He gave himself up for you, so with our relationship with God not being one-sided, what should you do in return?
Give yourself up for Him. Is he not deserving of it? The beautiful thing is He is not doing it out of pride, but He knows that if you don't, it will ultimately ruin you. I will end with this.
John 15:13
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
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