Sonbathing

Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”
Mark 8:34 (see also: Matthew 16:14, Luke 9:23)

The only thing that Jesus asks of me is total surrender of my life to following his way. That’s a pretty tall order, isn’t it? I mean, c’mon – total surrender? I can’t even choose my own profession, my own spouse, my own home? I have to leave all these decisions to him?
Absolutely – and thanks be to God for that!
This passage clearly states that in order to follow Jesus I need to give up my human desires to make room for his will in my life. That means I look to him when it is time for me to make decisions – about anything and everything.
It also means that I need to look within myself for my “cross.” What is it that I must carry, significant to me, that I’d rather not? Is it the darkness of an addiction, a past abuse that I’ve never shared, or something I’ve said or done to shame my family and friends? Or maybe it’s a birth defect that makes me stand out in a crowd, an anxiety disorder that renders me petrified with fear in a meeting, or an ego that lives on overdrive, constantly craving attention and validation? Whatever it is, it is time to cease denying it, pick it up, and ask for His help to carry it.
And that’s the best part of this verse. Right after Jesus tells me to stop being selfish and self-centered and do some hard work on the junk I have been stuffing way down deep inside all my life, he tells me what to do with it. Before I even have a chance to ask the question “How?” – he gives me the answer: “Follow me.”
Because when I follow Jesus, I will never walk alone. When I am willing to face that darkness within, he will be right by my side. When I review my behaviors and recognize my sins, he will not abandon me or judge me harshly. And when I feel like I need more than his spiritual strength beside me, he will send others who have experienced what I have experienced to hold my hand and remind me I am not alone.
And the next thing he says is a promise that no one I have ever met has been able to top: “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it” (v.35).
It’s a pretty simple process…just like when I was six years old and got stuck on an amusement park ride that was at least two stories tall. When Gus the fireman climbed up the ladder and told me to put my arms around his neck, hold on tight, and trust him, that’s what I did. Even at the age of six, I knew there was no other way to save my life.
Writing prompt:
Is there anything in your life that you have not been willing to surrender to Jesus? What’s stopping you from surrendering it? Write a letter to Jesus and tell him why you don’t want to give it up – and then ask him to give you all you need to let this thing go to him and trust him with it completely.