If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way [and] take up your cross daily.  Luke 9:23

Narrow, difficult, hard to find.  If you came to a hiking trail labeled with those words, you’d probably think twice before heading up it, wouldn’t you?

People generally like to say that they have faith or that they believe in something—it’s reassuring, helpful and good.  Like the comedian who said, “I have a lot of beliefs, and I live by none of ’em. That’s just the way I am. They’re just my beliefs; I just like believing them. They’re my little ‘believies’.  They make me feel good about who I am.”[1]

The Bible is not so vague, on the other hand, about this issue of faith and belief. In fact, the book of James points out that even forces of evil are believers. It says, “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you!  Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror” (James 2:19).

Jesus Himself put it bluntly: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way [and] take up your cross daily” (Luke 9:23). John Beeman explains, “Putting Jesus’s words into practice is the “road less traveled,” because it leads to the cross.”[2] Taking up my cross means I allow Jesus to order my daily life.

Jesus said, “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me.  And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them” (John 14:21). That’s the heart of Him Who asks us to follow Him.

Are you a Jesus believer or a Jesus follower?

 

[1] “Louis CK Beliefs.” YouTube, 8 Apr. 2014, https://youtu.be/qwmWRHDnbX4.

[2] Beeman, John. “This is the Way of Wisdom.’”  Stonecreek Christian Church, October 2, 2022.  Rancho Santa Margarita, CA.  Sermon.