And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.

Luke 9:23-24

We read in the passage from Luke’s gospel that Jesus said, “whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” What does it mean to lose your life? This means being willing to identify with Christ and embrace a life of faithfulness and repentance. Further to this point, we must be willing to separate from those who are an ungodly influence on us. A life of godly surrender is what the Christian life is chiefly all about.

Are you taking up your cross daily? Are you rejecting all that is ungodly? If you are your life will reflect that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us consider the words of the Apostle Paul, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil. 2:5-8).

May we by the grace of God have the same mind as Christ. He did not seek to make a name for himself nor did he seek to please men. Christ took on the form of a servant and was humble. Christ was obedient even unto death. His death was like no other before or after him. Yes, many have been crucified, but no one else could suffer and die to take away your sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is the one and only sacrifice sufficient to purchase souls and pardon all our guilt and shame.