Matthew 2023 | Matthew 16:24-28 | Self Worship vs. Self Denial

After claiming the title of “The Christ”, Jesus gives his disciples a heads up. If you’re going to come after me, it’ll mean denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following me (walking through life MY way). It might seem like Jesus is a curmudgeon who wants us to give up everything good and nice, in order to suffer. Yes and no. Yes - we’ve all grown up in a Snake influenced world, and we need to give up everything tainted by it, in order to receive true life in God’s kingdom. That’s hard. No - Jesus isn’t bland or grumpy. He has come to give himself in love, to restore the world into something much more enjoyable and beautiful than we could ever imagine. Sometimes the best doctors tell you “it has to come out” so you can live a full life.