This is what a Christian looks like
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34 )
How much of a Christian or follower of Jesus do you consider yourself to be? If you were to get an honest response to that question from most Christians, they would tell you that a look at their faith life would be a roller coaster – up and down, twists and turns.
Ultimately, the measure of our faith is if we trust in Jesus as our Savior. But having said that, the Bible encourages us to grow in our faith and strengthen it.
Our Bible verse for this week covers one of those areas of faith that often times requires growth and strength of faith. It is hard enough in this life to put others ahead of ourselves, but in this verse Jesus tells us that if we want to consider ourselves his disciple (a Christian), there are 3 things we need to do.
First of all Jesus tells us that we need to deny ourselves. Again, how hard it is to put others in this life ahead of ourselves. At every turn our selfish, sinful nature cries out “me, me, me.” Jesus tells us that if we want to truly think of ourselves as a his disciple and therefore a Christian, we not only need to put others ahead of us, we also need to put God in first place, all the time. You might realize that what Jesus is really encouraging us to do is put into practice the first commandment which encourages us Luther’s explanation to “fear, love and trust in God above all things.” Heavenly Father, forgive us for all the times we have failed to put you first in our lives. Strengthen us in our faith that we work to put you first and others ahead of ourselves, our wishes and desires.
If that is not enough, Jesus goes on to tell us that disciples of his also “take up their cross.” A “cross” is another way of telling us that we can expect that as Christians we will have to suffer for our faith. This is not talking about the pains and troubles we have to endure because we live in a sinful world. These are things we have to suffer because we trust in God and believe in Jesus as our Savior. This might be things like people making fun of us because we are Christians, being ridiculed because “you believe that Bible book” and other similar sufferings. Heavenly Father, forgive us for the times we have complained that we have to suffer for our faith or have denied our faith so that we don’t have to suffer.
One last mark of a Christian or a disciple of Jesus is that they follow him. At first you might want to jump in and talk about how you follow Jesus because you believe in him as your Savior and trust in his Word to guide you in your life. But before you get too confident that you are a good “follower” of Jesus, think about how many times you have instead asked God to “follow” you and let things in your life go the way you want them to go or think they should go.
Jesus’ words in our verse for this week are not meant to frustrate us or belittle us in our faith. They are instead meant to “set the bar a little higher” and show us where we have the opportunity to grow in our faith and come closer to God.
Heavenly Father, help us to grow in our faith through your Word and Sacraments and let us live our faith in a way which helps others grow in in their faith as well.