Luke 9:23:As I’ve said before, God wants us with him - but not just in heaven someday after we die. He wants us with him NOW. And he gives us pretty clear instructions for doing that: we must DAILY make the decision to follow him. Following him often means doing things that are hard, uncomfortable, and inconvenient; it doesn’t guarantee prosperity and happiness in this world. God is not politically correct, and neither is following him. Sometimes it’s messy, and sometimes - especially for those living in other countries - it can even be deadly.
"Then He said to them all, 'If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.'"
But he isn’t asking us to do anything more than what he did. In fact, even those who die for their faith in Christ still aren’t doing exactly what he did, because they are still imperfect sinners. Jesus Christ is the only sinless human EVER, but he paid for our sins with his perfect life. None of us can claim that.
Trying to become more like Christ often seems so far out of reach. But each day, before I even get out of bed, I can make the choice to follow him TODAY, rely on him TODAY, submit to him TODAY, allow him to live in me and through me TODAY. He won’t ask me to do it alone, because he is my best friend and he will never leave me.
