Follow Daily
Recently, I heard someone quote Esther’s famous statement, “if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16) and was struck afresh by Esther’s readiness to die in the cause of her people’s survival. But I was also struck by something else: we all hope to be able to rise to the occasion and willingly put our own lives at risk, but what about when it isn’t a time of life-or-death crisis or dire need?
The truth is, we may never be called to lay down our lives to prevent genocide or even to save the life of another: but we are called by Christ to lay down our lives every day in many little ways. We have been looking at Matthew 16:24-25, but in the parallel account of Luke 9:23, a detail is added:
“And He said unto them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
Notice the extra word: daily. This taking up of one’s cross is not just a grand sweeping gesture of commitment to Christ, nor is it a rising to the occasion in some dramatic way. Rather, the denial of self, taking of one’s cross, and following Christ is a daily business. To follow Christ is to take every moment, every task, even the most mundane and seemingly insignificant detail of life as a mission for the King.
The daily nature of discipleship invites us to live each day in the freshness of a renewed commitment. Whether we mean to or not, we will decide daily either to serve God or to serve ourselves. And without an intentional committing of ourselves to the service of the Lord, our automatic “default” will be to serve ourselves.
Daily discipleship requires an intentional decision day by day and moment by moment to serve God rather than ourselves. This truth walks hand in hand with the truth expressed in John 15:4-5, where Jesus says,
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the Vine ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.”
Discipleship requires daily dedication, because it also requires daily dependance. If we decide to serve God, but do not abide in Christ, drawing our strength and direction from Him, we will inevitably stay self-focused. As a disconnected branch cannot produce new growth, so we can do nothing apart from the Holy Spirit’s enabling power.
Galatians 5:16 speaks to this truth regarding victory over sin:
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
In order to have victory over our own lusts that entice us to sin, (James 1:14) we must walk in the Spirit. The images of abiding and walking remind me of Deuteronomy 6:4-7:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
We are to abide, to dwell, to live our lives in the constant awareness of the presence of God, and in obedience to and dependence upon His power. We are to walk in the Spirit, going wherever we go, doing whatever we do in the power and presence of God Himself Who dwells within our hearts.
As we invite the presence of God into each moment of our daily lives, as we choose to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we will find both victory over sin and fruitfulness for the cause of Christ.
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:25