The Benefit of Self-Denial
“Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24
The most basic and important qualification in being a disciple of Christ is to allow Him to have first place in one’s life. The sin nature with which we are born is a very selfish nature. It wants what it wants when it wants it. The proof of that can be found in any small child. We have to teach our children right from wrong–behaving correctly and obedience doesn’t come naturally. Jesus asks us to put away selfish desires and love Him more than anyone or anything else. Living for Christ will keep us from making a lot of mistakes that we would eventually make without His influence and guidance.
Adam Clarke in his commentary states that “a man’s self is to him the prime cause of most of his miseries”. He has that correct. Of course there are things that happen in life that are completely beyond our control, but many of our problems result from selfish desires. How many times have we done something that we didn’t feel quite right about, yet went ahead with it anyway and then suffered the consequences? We tell ourselves, “I knew I shouldn’t have done that”, and then vow not to make the same mistake again. A self-centered life gives Satan plenty with which to work, but one who is sold out to Christ limits Satan’s access, even though he never stops trying to hassle us. The Apostle Peter wrote in I Peter 5:8 that “the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour”, and he is still hungry for the hearts and souls of men, women, boys, and girls and determined to do damage to believers’ witness for Christ.
Satan is also like a spider that builds a web to catch unsuspecting insects. Along comes a beautiful butterfly that has been flitting from flower to flower enjoying the sweet nectar, oblivious to its enemy hidden within the leaves and stems of the flowers. It never meant to get caught, but within a split second, it is trapped in the sticky web trying to flap its wings to escape but to no avail. The spider attacks, wraps the butterfly up in her web to enjoy a tasty meal later when she will suck the life out of the butterfly. The butterfly never really had a chance. But not so with humans. We have one thing that the animal and insect world doesn’t have–a Savior.
To take up one’s cross is not suffering from disease or dealing with difficult circumstances. A cross represents what we are likely to bear because we are followers of Christ. We bear them, not for punishment, but for our benefit. Whatever trials and persecutions we suffer for Christ serve to make us stronger and more mature in the faith. It’s like they say in the physical fitness field, “No pain, no gain”. To build muscles, the weights must become heavier and heavier. The muscle hurts, but the pain lets one know that one is making progress. To grow in Christ is worth the pain of bearing our cross.