Mar. 7

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Luke 8:23.

We are all encouraged to be disciples of Christ. In many ways we envision that indeed we are disciples. But are we? It is too easy to settle for being a “part-time disciple”. We acknowledge that we have made progress, that we now understand many spiritual things, and, therefore, we must be spiritual. But wait a minute, the progress into discipleship involves the cross. It is the cross that stands between me and the nature of the true disciple. The cross is there to remove anything of my old nature that stands in the way of becoming like Christ. It is sometimes painful, even humiliating, to give up our old ways. It does not depend upon my talents, although they are to be given to Him, but it does depend upon my willingness to proclaim “It is no longer I, but Christ”. We ask Christ, by faith, to render our old nature in Adam powerless. And that is always done at the cross. There is no other way!

Today, as I seek to come after You, let the cross be by my side. Let it constantly remind me that the old nature is put to death. Don’t let me cling to my old ways, my old viewpoints, or my old prejudices. Crucify them! Give me peace about this, and all the praise will belong to You. Amen.
 

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