There are things that Jesus said that we often wish He hadn’t said.....…things like forgive one another....or, love your enemy,...or,
when someone hits you, turn the other cheek.....or, be perfect as
your Father in Heaven is perfect......or open your homes to
strangers.....or, if you call your brother a fool you are a murderer..................Things
we wish He hadn’t said.
And it’s a small step, and an easy step and therefore a step which many
of us take, to move from wishing He hadn’t said something, to living as
if He didn’t say many of the things He did say. Which is
how so many of us live.
"He
didn’t really mean what it looks like it means!!!" we think to ourselves.
A few years ago the WWJD bracelets were very popular and they were very challenging, but I’ve discovered something even more
challenging and easier than asking WWJD, and that is simply to remember what
Jesus said.
If you are prepared to have your personal comfort zone rattled, pick up
a Bible that has the words of Jesus in red and just be reminded of what Jesus
said, of what He says to you and to me, today.
I did this for a while, just a chapter a day, and just the words
of Jesus and I want to warn you that more often than I found comfortable, I
found myself saying, “Wow, did Jesus say that?”
In verse 34, Jesus says:
“If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget
self, carry his cross and follow Me.”
Some of us might have heard these words often. Let’s be
challenged/rattled by them today,
If anyone wants to come with me
Do you want to go with Jesus?....or.... do you want Jesus to go
with you? There is a difference.
Do you want to go with Jesus?....or.... do you want Jesus to go with you?
Think of the pets you have, especially dogs. We invite them into
our homes, into our lives, people who know us might even say: “He has a dog in
his life.” I might even take the dog out into the world – on a
leash. And it might even look as though the dog is leading me, but
actually I decide where we are going. The dog is going with me, I am not
going with the dog. It might look like the dog is in control, but I
am, I decide where we go, I decide if it’s safe or not. The
dog might want me to go somewhere, but If don’t want to or it’s dangerous,
I just say NO WAY....I'm the boss.
Many of us have that kind of relationship with Jesus. He’s our pet
Saviour – we invite Him into our life but forget that we are baptised
into Him and into His life. He's our pet saviour, we might even
take Him everywhere with us, BUT...we remain in charge!
And so Jesus
says, “If anyone wants
to come with Me.”
Do you want to go with Jesus……?
And if your and my answer is "Yes"......then says Jesus:
Forget self
Some translations have, “Deny yourself."
Denying self implies a discipleship that costs something – what
have I gone without this week because of following Jesus- but it also has a
deeper meaning which implies moving from self-centeredness to God-centeredness, where self is no
longer in charge...... God is. No longer my will be done, but……Thy will
be done.
Jesus goes on: "If you want to come with me, forget self and....
Carry your
cross.
Some translations have: take up your cross,
Luke records
Jesus adding the word...every day.
On another
occasion Jesus has said “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow in my steps……is not fit
to be my disciple.” (Lk 14:27)
Those who carried a cross were condemned to suffer and die. There
is perhaps a spiritual sense in which this point carries on the
last, implying we must die to self will, but it certainly also warns of
possible oppression, ostracism and even death as a consequence of following
Jesus. It means that following Jesus can be dangerous. Sometimes folk say: "I can’t do that or go there,..... it’s dangerous. Well,
that is exactly the point Jesus is trying to make. Those who follow the crucified one should expect (not
go looking for) but expect... danger, suffering, even death. Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, in “Cost of Discipleship” reminds us that when Christ calls a man,
He bids him come and die.
Remember the body of Christ into which we are baptised is a……broken
body.
Jesus says: If you want to come with me, forget self, take up your cross and……
Follow Me.
If Jesus in the flesh were to come to Hellesdon or Norwich this week
from Sunday to Saturday, we all know where He would choose to worship on Sunday
:-) {here at MWC of course} but where would He go tomorrow and Tuesday and
Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday?
Where are you going tomorrow and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and
Friday and Saturday?
Will our paths cross His or will we be in very different places and with
very different people to the ones Jesus would be with?
This third Sunday in Lent, we hear Jesus saying: “If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget self, carry his cross
and follow Me.”
and we reflect on our lives and ask ourselves:
Who is really
following who in my life……
Jesus said, “If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget self, carry his cross
and follow Me.”
Father, in the week ahead please help us to follow You, rather than to
guide You.
