Mark 8:34-37: Carrying your own Instrument of Death and Following Christ

Mark 8:34-37 “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Last week we touched upon the actions of a Follower of Christ, a Christian. This week we look a little further at what exactly following Christ means to a person.

If you turn on the television and go through the channels, chances are you will run across a sports even quickly. We admire athletes for the skill and ability and we try to emulate them when we play that sport. The athletes themselves have coaches and trainers who work with them and teach them, the athlete will follow their directions on pretty much everything from what to eat to when to shower and in what temperature water. No detail is too small for directions about it not to be given. The coach and trainer knows just what needs to be done to get someone to the peak of their ability.  The same is true for Christians. We have been given instructions on how to be a Christian, How to follow Christ, and how to be a better believer.  Just like an athlete follows his coach we follow ours - and our coach is perfect – Jesus!

What we need to realize is that we are expected to daily die to the world. This is a frequently thrown about phrase which has lost much of its meaning. The imagery Jesus gives us is a man burdened to carry his own instrument of death with him to the execution place – which He then modeled for us in John 19:17 (“Carrying His own cross, He went out to the place of the Skull”).just in case we thought about forgetting.  His example is the reason thousands of people risk their lives to spread God's word. Its a daily reminder that we are going to be treated the same way that Christ was. It is a reminder that we have already died to the rest of the world, that they consider us no better than walking Zombies. Our instrument of death is an instrument of torture and ridicule, a symbol that we are the worst of the worst: traitors to the state of quid-pro-quo, laissez-faire, and tolerance.  We must have the desires and attitudes common to the world burned out of us, surgically removed by Christ's hand. We are no longer to be the men and women we used to be but rather new men and new women of Christ. Who we were is to be done away with and who we are now is Christ and Christ alone. Our new desires, goals, dreams should all be based on Christ and His will rather than ours. That is our call as Christians. This is what it means to die to the world.

In Luke 14:27, Jesus scares us even further “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” That is correct, we cannot be a disciple or a follower of Christ if we are not willing to lose everything that we value in this world! Everything that the world holds dear, we cannot, must not! The only thing dear to us is Christ and His will.

This week we must wonder and ponder on how we can best follow Christ and the cross we must bear to do so. We must be reminded that  if something is of no great difficulty to give up and leave behind, then it is not what Christ is calling us to leave and forsake at this point in time.

Come, follow Me, the Savior spake,
All in My way abiding;
Deny yourselves, the world forsake,
Obey My call and guiding.
Oh, bear the cross, whate’er betide,
Take My example for your guide.
                                                                Johann Scheffler, 1668.