"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it."
Luke 9:23-24
Earlier in the chapter Christ tells his disciples to go out and take nothing with them, and that seems to be similar to what is being asked here... to deny ourselves, to follow Christ, to lose our lives. That is to trust God completely, with no reservation or backup plan of our own will. To know that God will be there for us when nothing else is, and to learn to feel safety in that embrace. That's really hard sometimes, and why we're talking about losing our lives in the first place. Our instinct is to shy away from the risks that God knows that we need to take, to hunker down and survive rather than the vulnerability that comes with shining as a light, and the fear of failure and pain and confrontation.
It won't come all at once, and that's okay. Today though, let's trust God more, and leave our fears behind. Let's do as he asks and follow his prophets, without assuming ahead of time that we are exceptions to any rule or commandment. From the scriptures, we know there are exceptions for the greater good sometimes, and times to resist evil, and times to walk another mile when compelled, but that's God's call, not ours. He will be able to direct us correctly when we are firmly on his path. We'll just get lost when we are walking our own. As we let go of our own wills, we will find a better and brighter way with God.
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