Luke 9:23 is a fairly well known verse. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Well known, but not well liked — at least for me. It laid down conditions for being a follower of Jesus that were not very attractive. Deny myself. Take up my cross. Oh okay – not too many ski lift tickets, no table saw, no touch screen. And for sure, no relaxing fun – after all, crosses are really heavy, sweaty, exhausting things to carry. And since it is for Jesus, it doesn’t feel right taking a day off from denying myself and to put down the cross. Drudgery – here I come, but I am doing it for you Jesus.

But then I learned to read this through the lens of the gospel. It changed everything.  This is a good news verse. Let’s look.

First, Jesus tells me to “deny” myself. My initial interpretation of this always leans toward asceticism, austerity, starkness – interpreted meaning my life is going to be filled with unmet desires, boredom and rather drab. And jealousy of those who don’t deny themselves. The good news is that it does not mean this. The Greek word arneomai means “refuse to follow.” Who do I refuse to follow? Myself. Stop being independent…because if I am my life will be filled with unmet desires. It will be drab. Boring. A disappointment. I will be like the prodigal son who thought independence offered the perfect life. God knows what is more fulfilling for me than I do. Okay – so denying myself is really a good thing.

But then Jesus says “take up your cross.”  Movies always show the cross-beam as unbelievably heavy. A huge burden. Why would he be telling me here to carry a heavy burden if in Matthew 11:30 Jesus tells me his burden is light? Which is it?

I need to understand “take up your cross” the way the original audience did. To the original hearers, seeing an individual carrying their cross meant that person was on a one-way journey. And the imagery also included a pathway lined with crowds jeering and criticizing the soon to be crucified criminal.

Lastly Jesus says “follow me.” Why would Jesus say this to me? I think it’s because he wants me to be with him. And maybe even more significantly, he wants to be with me! Jesus wants me to experience an incredibly precious relationship.

Putting all this together – what do I hear Jesus saying? For me it sounds like this; “Don’t be fooled into thinking you independently know what is most fulfilling for you. Instead, come on a one way journey with me and don’t let those who criticize you cause you to turn around. Follow me because I want you to be with me, and I want to be with you. And in this relationship of ours, you will find life just as the Father and I have planned it for you – and nothing could be better.”

To take up my cross is to be rescued from the emptiest and most unfilled life I could live and it is an invitation to unlock the best ever! Luke 9:23 is a good news verse.

In this post, you are about to discover two things that will be true about almost all my posts. First they will be short – far shorter than all the recommendations. Why? Because I value your time and want you to be able to fit this into your daily routine.

Secondly, while they may be short, I am only going to pass on to you what has been top of the chart helpful to me because I want them to be helpful to you. Maybe it will be something that you should put in your journal and ponder so that it changes the way you think about God. Maybe it will be something you can help a friend with or use in your teaching and leading.

In college I was a chemistry major partly because words and reading came so hard. I am still not an artist with words. And so in my reading I am always looking for how authors express what I am feeling but can’t put words to. Today I want to share a quote with you from one of the best books I have read this year, Recovering the Real Lost Gospel – Reclaiming the Gospel as Good News, by Darrell Bock. He put into words what so resonates with my heart; “God is on a quest to regain us, not to scold us.” He is after my relationship. He wants me. This went in my journal…and I am sure will wind up in my teaching.

Welcome back to Formed by Grace…and at the same time welcome to Laying it Down, our new name for this blog. Why the name change? Because in this blog, in the podcast that will come live in just a few weeks, and in the resources that I want to make available to you, they will all follow the theme of my book Lay it Down. While the theme will be the same, we’ll be going deeper, adding material and resources, having guest contributors, and most of all, creating a community of like-hearted friends who are who they are because of the grace of God (I Cor 15:10).

In the video below I’ll explain why I took a break, what my goals and standards are for this blog, and then update you on a host of new features.

After I watched the video, I decided I need to make this promise to you: next time I will smile and act like I am alive and enjoying life…because I am! Welcome back and I trust you will find a home here.