February 21

Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. — Matt 16:24 BSB

Not only was the way of suffering the divinely appointed path for Jesus Himself, but it is also the path His followers must walk. He walked through thorns and dark valleys because these were the roads that led to His glory.

We cannot fulfill Christ’s will and refuse to walk the hard paths He walked. We must deny ourselves if we want to be His disciples. Self-denial means taking self off the throne and placing Christ there instead. When we deny ourselves, we no longer follow our own desires, but we accept Christ’s leadership and follow Him.

Taking up the cross is also key to discipleship. The cross represents any duty that is hard or painful. There’s no merit in carrying a cross just for the sake of it; the cross must be taken up because it’s part of obeying Christ. There’s no virtue in making crosses for ourselves—the only cross that brings blessing is the one we find in following Christ.