“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)

Persecution, to the point of death, was a strong reality for the disciples of Jesus. And the reference to “taking up their cross” would have been well understood as it was a common Roman practice, in those days, to have the convicted man literally carry his cross to the hanging site. So today’s quote from Jesus recorded by Matthew, could have been taken very literally by the twelve. However in 2024, at least in eastern Pennsylvania, the chances of getting hung for your commitment to Christ Jesus is pretty much nonexistent. That said, the idea of losing your life, or yourself, all to gain Jesus is very much still a reality. I hate to admit it, but Satan has generated many ways for us to sin, and many of those ways have short term benefits. Something as simple as laughing at someone else’s expense to move attention away from yourself. This is a sinful act, but in the moment you manage to save face in some way. Many sins work this way in that it seems fun or satisfying in the moment. And this is where we can still make a connection to the words of Jesus from today’s verse. Our sin feeds the flesh in the moment and stopping that sin makes the flesh  of removing their sin have everything to gain