The First Trade You Must Make
"If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself…" – Matthew 16:24
You do not have to teach a child to be selfish. It just comes naturally. Maybe that is why a story like this hits home. A mom was making pancakes for her two young boys, Tom and Ryan, when a fight broke out over who would get the first one. Seizing the moment, she said, “If Jesus were here, He would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait.’” Without missing a beat, Tom looked at his younger brother and said, “Ryan, you be Jesus.”
That story is funny because it’s familiar. We all have a bit of Tom in us. Our natural instinct is to look out for ourselves. But if we are going to follow Jesus, we have to confront that instinct. Jesus said plainly that following Him requires us to deny ourselves. That word “deny” is not a soft suggestion. In the original Greek, it means to utterly disown. To put aside our wants and ways and follow Him fully.
Paul wrote something similar in Philippians 2. He praised Timothy, saying he was unlike the others who were all chasing their own interests instead of the things of Jesus Christ. In a world full of people living for themselves, Timothy stood out as someone living for the Savior. That kind of selfless living is not easy, but it is essential.
Romans 2 reminds us what is at stake. Paul says God will reward those who persist in doing good and seek glory and honor, but there will be wrath for those who are self-seeking and ignore the truth. This is not just a call to be nice. It is a wake-up call. Every time we choose selfishness over the Savior, we’re robbing ourselves of the life we were meant to build and putting up walls that protect nothing.
Jesus asked, “What will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life?” That is a question worth wrestling with every single day.
You do not have to teach a child to be selfish. It just comes naturally. Maybe that is why a story like this hits home. A mom was making pancakes for her two young boys, Tom and Ryan, when a fight broke out over who would get the first one. Seizing the moment, she said, “If Jesus were here, He would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait.’” Without missing a beat, Tom looked at his younger brother and said, “Ryan, you be Jesus.”
That story is funny because it’s familiar. We all have a bit of Tom in us. Our natural instinct is to look out for ourselves. But if we are going to follow Jesus, we have to confront that instinct. Jesus said plainly that following Him requires us to deny ourselves. That word “deny” is not a soft suggestion. In the original Greek, it means to utterly disown. To put aside our wants and ways and follow Him fully.
Paul wrote something similar in Philippians 2. He praised Timothy, saying he was unlike the others who were all chasing their own interests instead of the things of Jesus Christ. In a world full of people living for themselves, Timothy stood out as someone living for the Savior. That kind of selfless living is not easy, but it is essential.
Romans 2 reminds us what is at stake. Paul says God will reward those who persist in doing good and seek glory and honor, but there will be wrath for those who are self-seeking and ignore the truth. This is not just a call to be nice. It is a wake-up call. Every time we choose selfishness over the Savior, we’re robbing ourselves of the life we were meant to build and putting up walls that protect nothing.
Jesus asked, “What will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life?” That is a question worth wrestling with every single day.
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