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

God calls very few of us to literally die for Him.  And yet we are all instructed in Scripture to “die to self.” What does this mean? Dying to self means relinquishing control of your life to God, as Jesus did when he faced the cross and prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done.” (Matthew 26:39).

Think of it this way:  two people can’t both drive one car at the same time. Christ followers who have dedicated their lives to Christ describe coming to a point in their lives where they were presented with a clear choice – go their own way or yield to Christ’s lead. What is it that we give up if we let Christ lead? First, we must give up our prejudices, enmity, and pride; places in which we placed ourselves above others. Our tendencies to seek the approval or avoid the disapproval of others, even loved ones, must fall away as we seek to obey God above all else.

Others of us become trapped by what we view as our property. Shouldn’t we control what is ours? Yet everything we have is a blessing from God. Try this: make a list of your valued possessions and write next to each item, “this belongs to God.”

We can’t be ready to follow God without confronting our own crosses, meaning, we decide to give up our own leadership and ownership, to serve Someone greater.

Resource reading: Luke 9:1-62