Introduction
In the western movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the two outlaws find themselves being chased by an angry posse. Their luck seems to have run out as they flee to a high cliff that overlooks a raging river. Butch suggests they jump. Sundance refuses. Finally as the lawmen close in for the kill, Butch asks why Sundance doesn’t want to jump. Sundance admits that he can’t swim. Butch laughs and says, “Ah shoot, the fall will probably kill you anyway!”
Like Butch and Sundance, we face two options that both lead to death. We can reject Christ and our soul dies, which the Bible describes as the second death. The other option is to follow Christ, which calls for a death to self. It is through this strange paradox of dying to self that Jesus says we find life.
I. Maximize the Savior
The first step in the journey of dying to live is to maximize Christ in you life. Most are familiar with the maximize/minimize feature on your computer. When you maximize a window on your computer screen, the image fills the screen and other windows or images are hidden. Other windows may be open for easy access, but your attention is focused on whatever you have maximized to fill the screen. In this passage, Jesus makes it perfectly clear that we are following Him. Christ is the focus. Our eyes are to be fixed on Him (Heb. 12:2). Our minds are to be set on Him (Col. 3:1-2). Jesus is our great and glorious Savior who is worthy of worship and worthy of our best attention and affection.
One of my favorite hymns is the ancient Irish song Be Thou My Vision, which beautifully captures the concept of Christ’s supremacy and the privilege of knowing Him. “Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me save that thou art: Thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking or sleeping, thy presence my light. Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise, thou my inheritance, now and always: Thou and thou only first in my heart, High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.” Do you realize that the best, the highest, the most magnificent thought you could have in any given day is to think about Christ? That is maximizing the Savior.
II. Minimize self
Recognizing the greatness of Christ who is the life-giving Savior is the first step in the journey into Christ-honoring discipleship. The second is to minimize self as we seek to follow Christ. In the popular words of Rick Warren, “You discover purpose (genuine life), when you understand it is not about you.” The terms in the passage illustrate a willingness to subject our small and insignificant desires to the greater goal of following Christ. We are called to “deny self and pick up a cross.” The apostle Paul used similar terminology to describe his journey of faith, “I am crucified with Christ so that I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
This concept is difficult to practice for several reasons. First, we struggle with the spiritual perception. Obviously, Jesus is referring to spiritual concepts not physically carrying an instrument of capital punishment around with you all the time. Jesus is not advocating denying basic needs necessary to maintain physical life. We are dominated by materialism, not so much the accumulating of stuff, as much as the inability to see spiritual things. The apostle Paul was certainly better at this than most as he was able “to fix his eyes on what was unseen” (1 Cor. 4:18), but you can learn as the great hymn declares to “Turn you eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face and the things of the earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
Second, we struggle with this concept of dying to self because we are selfish! We fight against the lordship of Christ. We falsely believe that we could do a better job with our life than trusting His plan. Jesus has what we desperately desire, but we keep seeking to satisfy our selfish desires through worldly lust instead of through humble submission Christ. But, only through surrender can we experience all that Jesus offers. He said by seeking Him first we can expect to receive all the other things we desire (Matt. 6:33).
By grace through faith we acknowledge the lordship of Christ and abandon our futile attempts to build a satisfying life without Christ. The reference about loving your mother and father more than Christ does not suggest that Christians forsake their responsibility to care for aging parents; rather Jesus is illustrating that what He offers enables you to love with a far greater capacity. Married couples who understand this concept of seeking Christ first will experience a beautiful, wonderful, and fulfilling marriage as God intended. Loving Christ with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, will make you a better spouse and raise your marriage to a greater level of intimacy.
III. Energized service
Notice a third characteristic of Christ-honoring discipleship is energized service. Following Christ is not a passive lifestyle, nor is it just a sanctified resignation. We are not just eliminating desires; following Christ is igniting devotion. Spiritual surrender is not resignation. We are not called to embrace Buddhism, which consist of emptying oneself of all desire to achieve perfect nothingness. Christ-like surrender should not be confused with just quitting bad stuff, but it is allowing God to transform your life with new desires, new mercy, new life, and new songs to sing in your new heart.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that self is the enemy because it is being denied. We are called to present our self to Christ as a gift or as a “living sacrifice which is your spiritual gift of worship” (Rom 12:1). This presentation is a passionate choice not a passive concession.
The final thought of this passage reveals Jesus challenging His disciples to give cups of cold water to the “little ones.” Because we die to self, we are no longer looking for “man’s empty praise.” We don’t serve to be recognized by the luminaries of the community. We are not seeking to rub shoulders with the “movers and shakers.” If God opens that door, then we should walk through it, but Christ-like service is an energetic resolve to serve out of compassion for the “little ones” who often get neglected. You may not be recognized by the Rotary Club or the Chamber of Commerce for teaching a 4th grade boys Sunday School class or working with orphans in Mexico. But, that’s ok for a follower of Christ. Why does a dead man need recognition?