Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Life is full of tradeoffs. We have to assess cost/benefit on a daily basis. Do I buy a new car and spend more money, or do I buy a used car and save more? Do I work more hours to earn more money, or do I take more time off to allow for more family quantity time/enjoyment?

In business we use decision trees, SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis, and financial ratios like ROI (Return on Investment) and Profit Margin to make good decisions in wisdom about the future. Though we cannot guarantee success financially or in relationships in this life, we still plan for it.

Jesus presents his disciples here with an eternal cost/benefit analysis — look to your eternal rewards. Humans are given a unique gift in all of creation — we are made in the image of God and have a soul. So the cost/benefit is … Will I seek after world pleasures, wealth, and prestige … or will I seek after God? The former may gain me earthly riches, but without a focus on God it will cost me my soul.

I want to be clear here: It does not say that as long as you “identify” as a Christian your soul will be saved. It requires action and discipline and commitment. We cannot live for the pleasure of this world and expect to have our soul saved from death. The two are incompatible.

Will I “lose my life” for Jesus? Am I willing to lay everything down at his feet?

God promises a judgment day, and he will sift out the true followers from the pretenders and the evil doers.

So what is the life formula for following Jesus? Deny Yourself + Pick Up Your Cross + Follow Him = A True Disciple

Be humble and submit and sacrifice. Love and serve and speak the truth faithfully and without reservation or excuse. That is our cross to bear. To follow him means to do as he did.

Confidence on the day of judgment is attainable. It is not our perfection he will reward, because no one ever was perfect, save Jesus. It is our heart condition, our mind transformation, and our life action as we follow, dwell with, and serve Jesus.

Lord, thank you for this wonderful passage that challenges me to lay all of my worldly ambitions down at the foot of the cross. Teach me to trust you and thank you more!