In the days before his arrest, Jesus shared these words with his disciples: If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?

Don’t you imagine this statement rang in the ears of those men as they watched Jesus carry his own cross to Golgotha? The cross was an instrument of death. Jesus told his closest followers, bring your instrument of death along, because you will die for me. Die they did. Only one of the twelve lived on to old age while the rest were martyred, including Peter crucified upside down on his own cross.

What motivated such bravery and devotion? Meeting the resurrected Jesus and experiencing the powerful indwelling of the Holy Spirit flipped a switch. Fear succumbed to confidence. Even violent mobs bent on silencing these emissaries of God failed to dampen their resolve.

Following Jesus still leads to death. Death to reputation, death to acceptance, death to friendships, death to likes, death to promotion, and even physical death in some places. But when I determine to identify with Jesus, full-speed ahead and not caring who knows, my angst fades. Whatever I lose, I lose. So be it. Resolve fuels fearlessness—what can anyone do to me?

It’s actually freeing to take up the cross. As you look your community square in the eye and let people know you follow Jesus, you’ll gain your soul and the souls of others. Nothing greater exists in this marvelous world of ours. Jesus calls us to go all in, and in so doing experience the wonders of a life with him.

Matthew 16:24-26

Photo by Nikola Tomašić