Matthew 16: 24 Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
First up, we must understand that He is The Creator and we are His creatures, and because of this He retains the sole prerogative to lay out the terms and conditions of discipleship. There’s a cute brand of Christianity on display in our day, where many additions, and subtractions are made to God’s revealed word, so as to make accommodations for personal ideas preferences and biases.
Some attempt to mix politics and religion into a diabolical brew, and then throw over it the name of Christianity. Others have incorporated pagan concepts and Darwinian ideologies into their own brands, and the result is my truth, not God’s. Therefore, the truth in the matter of discipleship must now be made abundantly clear. Following Jesus will call for self-denial, and obedience to His every word, according to the light that is shed on our pathway.
This is accomplished through the inner working of His Holy Spirit in our minds, but God does not by-pass our freedom of choice to force folks to obey. The choice is ours, and if we do choose to serve, love and obey Him, it will have to be on His terms alone. So yes, there will be times when you will have to grit your teeth in denying that which your human nature craves, and yes, there will be times when you will have to do mortal battle against internal and external foes, of which the internal foes are the most dangerous.
Galatians 5: 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that ye would.
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!