The Christian life is not one of comfort. On the contrary what Christ asks of us is in direct opposition to our fallen nature; the flesh which is conformed to sin. On the norm our desire is to be glorified, to be prestigious, to be noticed, to be of value, and to be center of attention. Our flesh craves to live, to indulge ourselves. But Jesus called us to die. He said, "Unless a man deny himself, pick up his cross and follow me, he cannot be my disciple." (Matthew 16:24). The Apostle Paul echoing the words of the savior said, "die daily," (1 Corinthians 15:31) and "crucify the flesh and its passions." (Galatians 5:24).
We are called to die. To deny. To put to death self glory, gratification, our own honor, and esteem. We are to die to this world, and live in Christ. To "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." (Colossians 3:5, cross ref Romans 6:12). For it is sin to seek our own glory, to want people to focus on us and worship us. Fame and prestige are dainty morsels that devour man. We were never meant to be carry the burden of worship and praise. This is why celebrities are empty with all their pretty cars and penthouses. Why excellent students feel that they hate the subject they once loved because now they are Straight A student, and brilliance in their subject has been revealed they must carry the expectation & identity of being excellent on their shoulders.
If we die in this life, we live in the next. If we deny ourselves in this life, we shall be recognized in the next. Jesus said, "Those who are first will be last and those who are last shall be first. The greatest in the Kingdom will be servant of many." (Mark 9:35 and Matthew 20:16). We have to understand Christ was talking in culture were servants were common, when slaves were still the norm. For Jesus to say the servant shall be glorified and be the greatest was an oxymoron to the people listening to Him. For in their culture it was kings and rulers who were power brokers, not their servants. It was Cesars who were honored and mighty men who gained glory; not those that served them. But Jesus is giving us a picture of what it means to follow Him and to enter His Kingdom. It is upside-down to this world, it is a life that makes one look crazy to the citizens of Earth.
In the Beginning there was paradise, but it was lost because of a choice. This choice was to have glory, worship, praise, and esteem as "being like God, and know what He knows." The result was death. Man gained physical death by taking the Forbidden Fruit. So to get eternal life we must die again, this time to that Fruit, to the desire to sin, to live in darkness of the devil's system. Through Jesus Christ we can live again, but the cost is to die to this world; to deny the flesh, the programming we all are given as babies to adulthood why a world still plugged into the Forbidden Fruit.
If we die before our physical death, if we choose to die to the allure, entertainments, pleasures, focuses, ideals, and deceptions of this world; and instead live and trust in Christ we shall have eternal life. If we want to live in next, we must die in present. We must take up the cross and follow Christ on the way of sorrows and let everything of this Earth be like rotten corpses and filthy wrags to us! Jesus said, "He who takes up his life shall loss it, but he who loses His life for My sake shall have it." (Matthew 10:39). Jesus isn't talking about dying physically, but to die to everything and live for only Him. While yes this can lead to physical death, the point is if you lose your life to Christ you have life, because He is the author of life.
Does this death mean to ignore suffering, to loath people, and care for no one? Of course not! On the contrary it makes us want to reach those people more: to share the Gospel with them and teach them to die to this world; to hate this world in comparison to their love for Jesus and to deny themselves and let God be Lord of their lives, not their own lingering passions and pleasures. To die means to not seek fame, to not seek acclaim, and all the treasures of this world, but to "store up treasure in heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy, nor thieves break in and steal." (Matthew 6:20). To love Jesus more than anything and to die in that we may live.
Its a hard concept for many to fathom. Our programming: our flesh and sinful nature wants to be glorified, to embrace this world, to enjoy the fruits of this earth that are tainted with shadow. But to live we must die. To truly live on this planet we must crucify ourselves through Christ's Crucifixion and follow Him with our cross and die daily to the things of these world; but live according to Christ and His Kingdom. It is painstaking process of having the webs, the cords, and the snares that pull at us, cut one by one by Christ. It is not process of works or deeds, but rather following Jesus' example, letting us be transformed by Him (Romans 12:2) and realizing that this world is death. We are born into death, and to live we must die to this world and embrace the only True Life-Jesus Christ. (John 14:6).
The Apostle Paul put is most succinctly:
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