"Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.'" -Luke 9:23
Have you ever paid a lot for something you really wanted? When I was a teenager, I saved up enough money to buy 1/2 of my first car. I really wanted the car, but more than that, I wanted what the car represented: Freedom! As a teenager, I was desperate to get out of the house. I knew that getting a car would afford me this. And so, I was willing to pay the price for that freedom.
We hear a lot about Jesus paying the price for our sins. Being a genuine Christian isn't about works, but we can often get caught up in this battle, because it says, "Faith without works is dead." (James 2:20) They tell us to not drink and not smoke and hang out with the right crowd. But sooner or later, this list of "do's" and "don'ts" becomes nothing more than a religious ritual if we don't learn to hear God's still small voice and seek the answers for ourselves. As we progress in our faith, the cost of our freedom in Christ becomes more and more subtle. He requires more of us as we mature in our faith. But these subtle sacrifices can greatly change our lives and others' if we can learn to "take up our cross" in following Jesus.
There has been many a leader who started well but did not finish well. Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron was a minister's son, and had had a passionate belief in ethics and integrity. What went wrong? Perhaps the cost of the cross became too great. We know we are called to new levels when what was once acceptable behavior now gives us a prick in our spirit, a "check" if you will, of an increased sense of conscience. What once was okay and even right for others is no longer okay for us. These smaller discrepancies in what is right or wrong for us is described in this scripture: "One person's faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables." -Romans 14:2. This doesn't necessarily have to do with food - it could be our habits, our discipline, the way we relate to others, the letting go of offenses, how we spend our money or time, or the words we speak.
We will find that when decisions or actions bring conviction and we act on that conviction it will bring new levels of freedom. God's intention for us is not to live by mere rule and regulation - He instructs us to live within boundary for our own benefit. And, by doing so, we discover more of His abundant life in the process. "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!" -Romans 5:17
Is there anything you feel an increased sense of conscious about? When we are called by Christ, we are given great responsibility. Don't let selfishness take a hold of the freedom that is waiting for you. Take up the cross that God has called you to.
