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This week we focus on the Lenten theme of taking up our cross and following Jesus.

Words of Reflection

As we sit with the call of Jesus to take up our cross and follow him this week, there is a part of that passage that we sometimes overlook which deserves our full attention:

“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’”—Matthew 16:24-25 (NRSV)

When we study and meditate on this passage, our focus is often on what we are asked to sacrifice, and rightly so. Jesus’ words are about our denial of self and our willingness to lay down our lives for his sake, and that should always be at the forefront of our understanding of these verses.

But note that Jesus also tells us what we gain in doing so. He isn’t describing a one-way transaction—there is an exchange that happens here. We come before him in humility and supplication. We offer up our lives as a living sacrifice to him. We turn away from self and turn towards the cross.

And what we receive in return is nothing less than life itself. The life we were always meant to know.

The demands Jesus places on us are not the empty whims of a deity who enjoys chastising his followers for their mistakes. Instead, they are the loving commands of One who knows what is best for us and who desires us to experience it. Dying to self isn’t punishment—it’s invitation. It’s a purging of all the things in our lives that are not of God, so that we might be open to the life he has for us.

Our Lenten journey is all about that openness. It’s all about a deeper experience of surrender, and in doing so finding a deeper experience of freedom, peace, joy, and love.

Scripture for Meditation:

So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
—John 10:7-10 (NRSV)

Song: The Things We Leave Behind

There sits Simon, so foolishly wise
Proudly he's tending his nets
Then Jesus calls, and the boats drift away
And all that he owns he forgets
But more than the nets he abandoned that day
He found that his pride was soon drifting away
And it's hard to imagine the freedom we find
From the things we leave behind
Matthew was mindful of taking the tax
And pressing the people to pay
But hearing the call, he responded in faith
And followed the Light and the Way
And leaving the people so puzzled he found
The greed in his heart was no longer around
And it's hard to imagine the freedom we find
From the things we leave behind
Every heart needs to be set free
From posessions that hold it so tight
'Cause freedom's not found in the things that we own
It's the power to do what is right
With Jesus our only posession
Then giving becomes our delight
And we can't imagine the freedom we find
From the things we leave behind
We show a love for the world in our lives
By worshipping goods we possess
But Jesus says lay all your treasures aside
And love God above all the rest
‘Cause when we say ‘no’ to the things of the world
We open our hearts to the love of the Lord
And it’s hard to imagine the freedom we find
From the things we leave behind
And when we say ‘no’ to the things of the world
We open our hearts to the love of the Lord
And it’s hard to imagine the freedom we find
From the things we leave behind
Oh, and it’s hard to imagine the freedom we find
From the things we leave behind

Michael Card

Questions for Contemplation:

How do you understand the relationship between “dying to self” and “having life abundantly?” In what ways has that relationship played out in your own life? How might God be inviting you to go even deeper in that experience?

What are some of the things God has asked you to “leave behind” in your walk with him? How has he shown himself faithful in the midst of those seasons of sacrifice? Spend some time in grateful prayer for his loving command and merciful provision.

Michael Card’s lyrics say that the journey of surrender brings freedom. Nowhere is that more evident than the cross, where Jesus willingly surrendered his life for our freedom. Spend some time in worship and grateful prayer for this most amazing of gifts.