Crucified with Christ
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
- Galatians 2:20
People sometimes will use the expression, "We all have our cross to bear." But our cross to bear is not whatever we find difficult in life. The cross to bear, so to speak, is the same for everyone: it is dying to self.
Dying to self means resisting the temptation to do what everyone else is doing when you know it is wrong. Dying to self means forgiving instead of harboring a grudge. Dying to self means putting down the remote control and picking up the Bible. Dying to self means praying when you would rather be sleeping. Dying to self means swallowing your pride and telling someone about Jesus Christ. Dying to self means doing what God wants you to do rather than doing what you want to do.
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Jesus said, "Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:33). That does not mean you must take a vow of poverty and give every possession away to be a disciple of Jesus. "Forsake all" literally could be translated, "Surrender your claim to, say good-bye to." This means that true disciples of Jesus are not possessed by their possessions.
When you die to yourself and take up the cross, you will experience joy and an overflowing life. The apostle Paul put it this way: "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
If you want to be a disciple, then you must love God more than anyone or anything else. You must deny yourself. And you must take up the cross and follow Jesus.
