Taking Salvation for Granted
What is the true cost of following Jesus? I think I’ve been taking my salvation for granted. I’m willing to obey God’s commands until it feels uncomfortable, and then I come to a halt in my faith walk–until God inevitably drags me back on the right path. There have been countless moments in which God opened a door for me, I walked through it, then later stepped out of it for my own convenience. If I think about it, would I be willing to bear the penalty that is needed to wholeheartedly follow Jesus?
“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’” (Matthew 16:24)
“Let Him Deny Himself”
I’m almost finished with the book, What Did Jesus Really Mean When He Said Follow Me? By David Platt. He talks about the great cost that comes with following Jesus. “Peter was crucified upside down, Andrew was crucified in Greece, James was beheaded, and John was exiled. Yet they believed following Jesus was worth the cost. In Jesus, these men found someone worth losing everything for.”
What these followers endured is probably what Jesus meant by “let him deny himself.” It shows that the call to follow Jesus is not only an invitation; it is a call to lose our lives. I’ve realized that I morphed Jesus into a nice, easy-going Americanized-Jesus that caters to my every need and comfort. I pick and choose what I like and don’t like from His teaching. I’ve created a Jesus that thinks just like me and lives just like me. Jesus would never make me leave my comfort zone, because he loves me, right? Well, He died in my place, so I don’t have to pay the penalty of eternal suffering. Is that not enough of a truth to take up His cross?
Where’s my Hope?
Maybe I’m just not ready to follow Christ. After being humbled by this realization, a part of me lost hope. This might not be something I’m ready for. But I don’t need to be ready if I place my trust in Christ. “As we trust in Christ, he transforms our tastes in such a way that we begin to love the things of God that we once hated, and we begin to hate the things of this world that we once loved.” It is through the Holy Spirit that I can change my actions and conquer sin. I don’t need to do it by working hard to change my actions myself. Once God changes my heart, my mind, affections, will, and relationships will change. Conquering sin is done by PURELY trusting Jesus to change me from the inside out.
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’” (John 6:35)
Once I am renewed, what satisfies me may also change. Wait, no, it WILL change. Now, what does it look like for me to hate the things of this world I once loved? Well, it probably starts with not caring about people pleasing, others’ perception of me, grades, physical appearance, material desires, and career success. If I’m able to surrender these desires, maybe then I will be able to stumble less in my walk in faith. There are so many more things I could surrender. There will be several moments when I’ll be asked to surrender something. As long as I know who to place my trust in, I can have full confidence in my surrenderance. If I know where my help comes from, maybe surrendering can become second nature. Eh, I still have so much to learn.
“The way to conquer sin is not by working hard to change our deeds but by trusting Jesus to change our desires.” – David Platt