Nothing To Lose!

I'd like to start this post with a simple (but profound) question: "What do you have to lose"? Think about it for a second: Would you be willing to lose (forsake) everything (for real) to follow Christ? As Christians, we use the Bible very lightly, as if the words we quote from the Bible had no real meaning or we just ignore the context. E.g.: Philippians 4:13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength, Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me, etc. We are very good in "quoting" the Bible, but most of the time, we are very bad in "living" the Bible. I'd like to compare ourselves (for the most part), with a parrot. A parrot can learn to talk like a human and yet, will neve become a human being. When it comes to Christianity, we (Christians), like to play the "imitation game", we love to sing "meaningless" songs (if we're not living what we're singing, it's meaningless for us) even if those songs are full of extremely profound words and meaning. E.g.: "Where You go I go...", "I want to be like Jesus...", "Here I am down on my knees again, surrendering all, surrendering all...", etc. Jesus Christ never "sugar coated" His Gospel, HE IS the Gospel (Word of God)! When He taught His disciples, He "showed" them what He was saying and some of His teaching they only understood after His resurrection. For me (it's personal), one of the most profound and difficult to assimilate teachings is found in Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Let's think about the cross. The crucifixion, in Jesus' time, was the preferred roman way of punishment by death for the "criminals". It was (some say it still is) the most horrible way of dying. The word “excruciating” comes from "crucifixion". It was a slow, painful, shameful death. Since it's Easter (Passover) time, here in America, considering that we're still a "christian" nation (even if, as a nation, we have abandoned Christ to follow other gods, our temples are filled with entertainment and Jesus Christ is outside, at the door, knocking), we're constantly remembered about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The cross became a "symbol" in our religion, but, as Jesus said, it is much more than a symbol, it is for the Christian as it was for Jesus Christ (for Him it was literal). Jesus said: "I am the way...". The end of the earthly life of Jesus Christ was the cross and so it is for His followers (Christians). Whoever does not "deny him/herself" and "take up his/her cross", is not following Jesus Christ, that's an absolute truth! It's a lifestyle of going to the "church" (religious organization), talking about Jesus, singing "songs of joy", but it is not being Jesus' disciple (it's a slave of a man's religion). The purpose of "taking up" the cross, is to be crucified in that cross. Pay attention to what Paul says in Galatians 2:20 I have been..., that's a "present perfect tense" verb. "Present perfect tense" verbs are used for past actions that are related to or continue into the present, meaning: "I was and I am crucified with Christ". When I was born again, I was crucified, died and became a new creation. Today, I am still crucified (dead) in that same cross! Do you understand meaning of the cross (crucifixion)? So let's go back to the question, considering that you and I are dead in the cross: "What do we have to lose"? In the cross we lost it all! Self pride, self reliance, self ambition, self sufficiency, etc. We must die so Christ can live IN us and as Paul wrote, the life we MUST live is by faith ("without faith it is impossible to please God"). When in 1 Corinthians 15:31, Paul says "I die daily", he's not speaking literally, he's talking about what Jesus said in Luke 9:23 "take up your cross daily". If we don't understand that the cross is part of our daily lives, we'll NEVER allow Christ to live IN us. So, do you still have anything that you need to surrender (give up, to lose) in order to receive the life God has for you? Luke 9:23-26 Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels".