Daily Devotions

Our last quote of the week from the pen of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is, “To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us. Once more, all that self denial can say is: "He leads the way, keep close to him.”

Of course the gospel verse that  readily comes to mind if not always seen in our actions is, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Imagine going to a financial planner who tells you that if you want to save for retirement, you have to spend all your money. Or imagine talking to a dietician who says that if you want to lose weight, you need to eat as many cheeseburgers as you can. It just doesn’t make sense. But Jesus’ teaching here can sound almost like that: To find life, you have to give up your life for him.

Being a disciple of Jesus is often about not doing what the world says we should do. We live in a culture of hyper-individualism and self-interest. “Do what is good for yourself first,” the world says. “Look out for number one.” But following Jesus means doing what he asks and not always what I want. It means relying on his strength and power, not my own. It means putting his mission and purpose above my own ambitions and goals. It means humbling myself and following Jesus, wherever he leads.

To deny oneself is not to do without something or even many things. It is not asceticism, nor self-rejection or self-hatred, nor is it even the disowning of particular sins. It is to renounce the self as the dominant element in life. It is to replace the self with God-in-Christ as the object of affections. It is to place the divine will before self-will.

May we pray for the freedom we need to be able to let go, to realise that our lives are not ours to save; it comes from God and its fullness lies in God.

Yes, I need this reminder, Lord. You are not leading us out to a picnic in the country, or to a concert of uplifting Gregorian chant, or to a life of guaranteed prosperity. I want to find my life, to make something of it beyond getting and spending. For that I need a smidgeon of your fortitude. Amen