Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life of My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and ‘will then repay every man according to his deeds.’” Matt. 16:24-27 NASB
The subtitle in my Bible says, “Discipleship is costly.” And that has been my attitude toward these verses. I must give up my rights (deny myself) and go through some difficulties (carry my cross), but it will be worth it in the end. Perhaps you have had the same attitude too. Thanks to my pastor’s sermon yesterday, I have a fresh perspective.
Pastor reminded us that these words come from the One Person who loves us the most. Jesus loves us and wants the best for us.
Jesus paid a high price so that we might have eternal life with our Heavenly Father. He doesn’t want us to squander that eternal life by chasing after the temporal life. I am reminded of Deut. 30 where God says to the Israelites, who have just come out of Egypt, “I have set before you, life and death, blessings and cursing. Choose life!!” (Cindy’s paraphrase.) Verse 25 here in Matthew 16 is a restatement of that plea. Jesus is saying, “The conventional wisdom is wrong. You won’t find what you’re looking for in this life. Take My advice; Choose (eternal) life!”
Jesus considered our souls so valuable that He exchanged His own life for ours. And His question to us in verse 26 of Matthew 16 is, “How valuable is your soul to you?” Even if we had EVERYTHING the world has to offer, is it worth exchanging our soul for? Jesus really could have had EVERYTHING the world has to offer, but He chose us instead! Jesus says, “You are worth more than that to Me!”
Jesus desires that we have much “fruit” to our credit. Jesus is coming again “in the glory of His Father with His angels.” (v.27) And when He comes, He will repay everyone according to their deeds. He will right all wrongs; praise God! And He will reward all good deeds. Jesus loves us and wants us to be ready with lots of good “fruit” to our credit when He comes again.
I have a fresh perspective now. When I hear Jesus imploring me to “Choose Life!” my heart melts! When I see Jesus valuing my soul enough to exchange His very life, I am in awe! How could I but love Him back?! How could I help but desire to bear fruit for His glory?! I no longer see discipleship as costly. I see discipleship as choosing life.
Both Jesus and I implore you to do the same . . . Choose Life!!!