Forgetting One’s Self

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Lk. 9:23)

Some folks have this grand mystical whim of being a “Christian”, yet, they have not even the remotest clue of what being a real Christian entails. They are totally oblivious to the demands of a genuine Christian existence. Most seem to perceive it as some kind of slap-happy emotionally charged roller-coaster thrill ride with moon pies in the sky for dessert. Christianity is not for the faint of heart. It is not pretty little praise clichés with Howdy Doody rhetoric. Heaven wrought Christianity is of eternal holy design.

Our text clearly gives three elements utterly essential to rightfully “come after” Jesus. It does not mean to walk in His steps or to be carried in His arms; it is to consecrate one’s self to the identical sacrificial life of righteousness traveled by the Lord Jesus. It is a life of completing the Father’s will in one’s assigned duties. Jesus came to do the Father’s will and to finish His work; it must also be so for everyone seeking to “come after” Jesus.

The word “deny” carries the idea of losing one’s self in the pursuit of fulfilling the purpose of God in Christ Jesus. It is an unvarnished forgetting of one’s own desires and goals for the good of the cause of Christ, which is the eternal work of the Father.

Taking up the cross describes one’s willingness to be a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. It is the ultimate surrender of one’s life to do as Jesus in the unreserved giving of “self” for another. In this text, it is following in the likeness of the life of Christ. It is setting one’s eyes on the eternal purpose of the Father.

“Follow me” at the end of the passage conveys to the believers to accompany and to unite with Jesus in the pathway of righteousness for the work of the Father. In the holy work of Christianity one must forget self-purpose and release himself into the depths of grace in Christ Jesus. Forgetting “self” is remembering who you are in Jesus.