“The Paradox of Discipleship”
Matthew 16:13-27
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” [Matthew 16:24-25]
There is a fundamental paradox in being a disciple of Christ, and it is spelled out in these verses. These are the very words of Jesus: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” This seems counterintuitive at first, and it is from the world’s perspective. But from a Kingdom perspective it makes perfect sense.
Our natural inclination is “me, myself, and I.” It is the way of the world. We do not need to learn this. It comes naturally; it is inherent in our fallen nature. But it is in our fallen nature that we became something that we were never created to be, self-seeking and separated from God. It was not like this in the beginning, but it is an inherent feature in our fallen nature now.
The good news is that this can be reversed by believing on the name of Jesus and then following Him. The former is the “born again” experience. This comes by confessing you have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; repenting of your sins; and asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins and be your personal Lord and Savior. The latter [the following] comes simply by doing what Christ has called you to do.
A follower is a disciple. A disciple follows his Master. That is why Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” But the key is dying to self and following Christ.
The interesting thing is that when we lose our life in Christ, we gain back the life for which we were created. And that there is the paradox! When we truly give our lives to Jesus, we finally become the person that we were created to be, and that is such a wonderful thing!
Remember the days “Before Christ” when you worked so hard to fit in? Perhaps even as a newborn Christian you still tried to fit in. But as you matured, as you grew in the grace and knowledge of your Lord, as you became a disciple of Christ and a true follower, you found that it is ok to not fit in. You found that God’s perfect peace and rest came by not fitting in.
Remember, we are square pegs in a round world. But also remember that the New Jerusalem “is laid out as a square” [Rev 21:16].
And that is the great paradox in being a disciple of Christ. “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
