Matthew 16:24

Good day! :)

I was just thinking of this verse:
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. - Matthew 16:24

Clarke's commentary on this verse:

Will come after me - i.e. to be my disciple. This discourse was intended to show Peter and the rest of the disciples the nature of his kingdom; and that the honor that cometh from the world was not to be expected by those who followed Christ.

The principles of the Christian life are:
1. To have a sincere desire to belong to Christ - If any man be willing to be my disciple, etc.
2. To renounce self-dependence, and selfish pursuits - Let him deny himself.
3. To embrace the condition which God has appointed, and bear the troubles and difficulties he may meet with in walking the Christian road - Let him take up His Cross.
4. To imitate Jesus, and do and suffer all in his spirit - Let him follow Me.

"The honour that comes from the world was not to be expected by those who followed Christ."

I think sometimes we (or at least myself) can get too caught up in trying to find approval from the world.
We want to have people like us, we want to be "accepted" by society, etc.
And sometimes we tend to rely too much on what other people think, but ultimately the "honour" that comes from the world is absolutely, 100%, worthless compared to the honour we'll receive on Judgment Day for living the Christian life, and living it well.

Yes, it's so easy to value the world's opinion because gratification is immediate.
If we behave a certain way (despite the fact that it may not be pleasing to God), we get acceptance from certain groups of people.

As much as acceptance by the world feels good, Jesus calls us to deny ourselves and to follow Him.

On Judgment Day we're going to have to account for all our actions, and all of us stumble at some point, but do we really want to tell God that we behaved a certain way because we valued the world's opinion over God's opinion?

Ultimately (as hard as it is to practise), Christianity isn't about ourselves, it's about God's will, plan and purpose for the world.

Hope you guys have a good week ahead!
Let's all make a conscious effort to choose what God desires over what our sinful nature may desire sometimes, shall we? :)

Love,
Nadia

(If you guys want to read more I got the commentary from here!)