What Will You Surrender?

What Will You Surrender? by Aathira Haridas

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23

Crucifixion was arguably the Roman empire’s most heinous form of capital punishment. It was physically unbearable beyond comprehension, as well as a symbol of shame, the stripping of the crucified criminal’s dignity. This was the death Jesus endured, tortured beyond recognition and humiliated. He endured this death while wholly innocent.

Yet, ask any of billions of people across the globe who follow Jesus, and they will attest the same cross, the one upon which Jesus once hung, is now the foundation of their hope. How could the very symbol of pain and death have been redeemed for God’s glory in this way?

When Jesus willingly went to the cross, He understood what was to be birthed through His death: the salvation of man. By offering His life as the perfect, complete payment for sin and later resurrecting, He made a way for man to be reunited to God in eternal relationship. Death should have meant His defeat, but Jesus redefined death itself to breed life… our lives. Because He gave His life, humanity can now know True Life.

Considering Christ’s sacrifice, there is now a choice we must make: Will we share in His death by taking up our cross?

To take up our cross is to commit to dying. It is death to our selves, the surrender of our dreams, desires, and rights, that Jesus may be glorified in us, and His mission to reach all of mankind with the message of the Gospel may be carried out on Earth through us. This death will require us to submit to suffering as Jesus did. Whether it be poverty, rejection, or persecution, even to the extent of losing our lives, it will cost us to lovingly obey Jesus.

Taking up our cross is a death from which we will not return, for the self will be swallowed up by the authority of Jesus in our lives.

So, what are you willing to lose to take up your cross?

Will you risk the rejection of family and friends to follow Jesus?

Are you prepared to lose your reputation, if that’s what it takes to share the Gospel with your classmates?

Are you willing to abandon the American Dream to go to the hostile, remote corners of the Earth where people have never heard the name of Jesus?

We are called to give our lives that others may live- what an honor it is to be able to reflect Jesus in this way. Furthermore, in His kindness, Jesus does not command us to bear our cross without providing the strength to do so. This is the power and confidence of the Cross, that anyone who surrenders their life to faithfully follow Jesus will find true life in Him (Matthew 16:25). Through the Cross, Jesus secured for us eternal life which persecution cannot steal and hope suffering cannot crush. We can joyfully lay down our lives, knowing everything we could possibly lose will never compare to the vastness of His worth. Even death can’t separate us from Him, so what is there left to fear? He will carry us through to the end- He is the sure reward of those who bear their cross!

Conviction:

The Cross Bears Those Who Bear the Cross

Practical Challenge:

- Meditate on Galatians 2:20

- Ask God to reveal to you any rights over your life you are holding on to (Acceptance, Achievement, Possessions, Provision, Security, Safety, etc…) and to help you surrender fully to His authority