We American Christians have a way of taking the Jesus of the Bible and twisting him into a version of Jesus that we are more comfortable with. A nice middle-class American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who for that matter wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings comfort and prosperity to us as we live out our Christian spin on the American Dream.
Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it.-Mark 8:34-35
Jesus lays out the essence of “the normal Christian life,” the basics of discipleship, which sadly in our day looks like “the radical Christian life”. Being Jesus’ disciple requires three essentials.
First, deny yourself. Give up the right to self-determination. Live as Christ directs. Treasure and value Jesus more than yourself, your comforts, your aspirations. Put to death the idol of I! Say no to you and yes to Jesus!
Second, take up your cross. Die! Luke 9:23 adds the word “daily” because that is what we must do. This is not normal or natural, but it is necessary to be Christ’s disciple. And it is a slow, painful death.
Finally, follow Me! Are we willing to believe and obey Jesus? It will be radical, not comfortable, because it involves a death to the self-centered life.
Verse 35 have the word “for” in Greek. Jesus is providing the basis for the challenge of verse 34. If you save or treasure your life above all else, you will lose it. The one who plays it safe and considers his existence more important than Jesus will lose both Jesus and eternal life. In contrast, the one who gives his life for Jesus and the gospel will actually save it! Following Jesus involves risking it all-safety, security, satisfaction in this world. But He promises us that it leads to a reward this world can never, ever offer. There is a life worth giving for the glory of God and the gospel! It is a dying to self that other might live! It is not safe! But it is the normal Christian life!
In conclusion Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) understood what the normal Christian life should look like. He said, “the cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death-we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
May all of us learn how to die for Christ and the gospel that we, and others, may truly live. May all of us learn what it, and how to live, the normal Christian life.
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