"Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (ESV)
Two words jump out at me when I read this: DENY HIMSELF
Then my first thoughts are in the form of a question: How often do I actually deny myself anything? My daily life seems full of just the opposite, and it looks more like self indulgence, rather than consideration of others.
So, Chambers says in relation to all of this:
"God wants to bring you into union with Himself, but unless you are willing to give up your right to yourself, He cannot. ". . . let him deny himself . . ." deny his independent right to himself. Then the real life-the spiritual life-is allowed the opportunity to grow."
Babies are terribly cute, but they only know one thing, whatever they want, they want, and they want it now. Our whole advertising culture is about self wants, and the focal point is "me".
My son in law, Noel, over in Arkansas put a Cady Gray (my charming grand daughter over there) quote on his Twitter line the other day.
"Christmas is not just about getting, it is also about giving and receiving."
Even at Christmas time, it is hard to get away from ourselves...
Deny Myself, Come On, Really?
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