And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:23-27

Have you taken the call of Christ personally?

Have you ever imagined what it would have been like to be a part of the crowd hearing the teaching of Jesus for the very first time?

How would you have responded when Jesus said, “If you would come after me, you must deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me”?

Too often I think we have missed the point of Jesus’ call in our 21st century life. I remember hearing Kyle Idleman preach a sermon he entitled “Not A Fan” some years ago. He made a couple of distinctions between those who are fans of Jesus compared to followers of Christ:

• Fan:  An enthusiastic admirer
• Follower: an adherent or devotee of a particular person, cause, or activity

In the verses above, Jesus makes it clear that His followers are to be devoted to him by dying to their own selves and ambitions daily. Otherwise, we can be like those He goes on to describe in the verses that follow. The person who tries to save his own life, loses his life, but the one who loses life for the sake of Chris will be saved. The person who is ashamed of Christ and His teaching will face the consequences of denying Christ.

So, we must take the call of Christ personally and follow him daily.