THE RUINED SELF

"Then he (Jesus) said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."'

Deny yourself. Deny yourself of what, exactly? Is self-denial a virtue all on it's own or is there something more specific Jesus is driving at? These are the questions I have wrestled with after reading this passage a few days ago.

And then it hit me - Deny your SELF. Jesus is reminding us of a few fundamentally powerful parts of our faith journey - in fact our journey of LIFE:

1. The self is dysfunctional and ruined. There has only been one perfect person and that was Jesus. The rest of us have been severely damaged by sin and born broken. The self is not trustworthy. It is dysfunctionally selfish and deceptive. It is, in fact, ruined.

2. The self cannot be repaired or improved - it must be replaced. The Old Covenant - and every religion on earth, for that matter - is about being a better self so God will be happy with you and you can earn your way back into His favor. But Jesus taught us that the self is so ruined that it cannot be improved; it must be executed. Take up your cross, deny your SELF and follow Jesus.

3. The power of the gospel is the power of being born all over again - having a new self, made in the image and power of Jesus. "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who gave himself for me."

4. While I reckon myself dead to sin and alive to God, my sinful self is very much able to be called back into duty. In fact, it constantly begs to be put back in the game. Therefore the key to my daily life is to put off the old self with it's sinful and deceptive ways and put on the new self, created in Christ Jesus. My daily opportunity (often called a challenge) is to walk closely with Jesus and allow the Spirit to live the life of Jesus in and through me.

5. So, my highest priority is to keep the old self crucified and walk in newness of life with Jesus, by His Spirit in me. Every day. Every hour. Every minute. Focus is the powerful friend of the follower of Jesus. Keep your eyes on Him!