Things Jesus Never Said

Luke 9:23,24 Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you every day for following me. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will save it.

The meta-narrative, the overarching story that the world today wants to drop on our heads basically goes like this: live a good life and be happy. Fine up to a point, but there’s a dangerous underbelly to that.

Look, do I think that God wants to bless us? One hundred percent! Absolutely! Like any loving father, He wants the best for His children.

But if you morph – actually, distort – that notion of God’s blessing by mixing it with the self-centred story that the world’s peddling, you’ll end up heading completely in the wrong direction.

Wakeup call. Here are some things that Jesus never said: Listen to your heart. Be true to yourself. Trust your gut. Feel good about who you are. Happiness is what matters. Just be a good person.

As familiar and appealing as they may be, you won’t find any of those ideas emanating from Jesus’ teaching.  But here’s something that Jesus did say.

Luke 9:23,24 Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you every day for following me. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will save it.

That, my friend, is the complete opposite of what the world will tell you about your life. There’s a choice to be made here for each one of us. Be happy and feel good about yourself, just be a good person … or take up your cross and follow Jesus.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.