Pastor Tricia's Ramblings

Following Jesus isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s not a hobby, a comfort, or a cultural label. It’s a call to die. In Luke 14:27, Jesus says, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Again, in Luke 9:23–25, He tells His followers, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Those words were shocking then, and they’re still shocking now. We read them in our cozy homes, coffee in hand, and forget what the cross really meant. To the people listening to Jesus, the cross wasn’t a decoration or a metaphor—it was a tool of execution. It was the Roman Empire’s ultimate symbol of shame, suffering, and death. It was reserved for the worst of the worst—traitors, rebels, and criminals who dared to stand against Caesar.

So when Jesus said “Take up your cross,” He wasn’t inviting people to a comfortable spiritual journey. He was calling them to a death march.

The Meaning of the Cross

The cross was not just painful; it was humiliating. It stripped a person of all dignity. Those who bore a cross had been found guilty of treason. Their lives were forfeit.

In our sin, that’s exactly where we stand before God—traitors to His Kingdom. We have rebelled, declared independence, and chosen our own way. We deserve the cross.

But here’s the beauty of grace: Jesus took our cross upon Himself. He bore our shame, our guilt, our death sentence. Yet, when He invites us to follow Him, He doesn’t erase the idea of the cross—He transforms it. Now the cross becomes not just a symbol of death, but of surrender.

To follow Jesus means to surrender every claim we have to self—our rights, our pride, our ambitions, our comfort, and our control.

R.C. Sproul once said in his article “Willing to Die,” “The cross was a means of execution. Thus, Jesus calls us to die. True discipleship puts our lives at risk.”

For most of us in Western culture, that idea feels distant. We don’t expect to pay a price for following Christ. We see persecution and martyrdom as rare, tragic incidents—something that happens over there, not here. But Jesus’ words haven’t changed. The cross still calls for death—the death of self.

The Cost of the “Free” Gift

When I talk about the cost of following Jesus, I think of my little dog, Chi Chi. He was a purebred, long-haired Chihuahua—tiny, beautiful, and completely free. Someone handed him to me as a gift. But as time went on, I learned that “free” didn’t mean without cost.

Chi Chi had health problems that required expensive medical care and a lifetime of special food and medicine. By the end of his life, he had cost me thousands of dollars—and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Because in that cost, I found love, companionship, and joy that far outweighed the price.

Salvation is much the same. It’s free because Jesus paid it all—but following Him, walking in that salvation, costs everything.

We love the idea of grace being free, and it is. But grace isn’t cheap. Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously called it “costly grace.” It’s the grace that calls us to die so that Christ can live through us.

When we receive the free gift of salvation, we receive the most precious thing in the universe—a relationship with the living God. But that relationship will cost us our pride, our independence, and our illusion of control.

It’s the same with my dog—accepting the gift meant accepting the responsibility. With Christ, receiving His grace means surrendering our old life so we can live in His.

Dying to Self

The Apostle Paul understood this truth deeply. In Galatians 2:20, he wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

That’s not poetic language—it’s theological reality. When we place our faith in Jesus, something profound happens. Spiritually, we die. Our old self—the one driven by sin and selfishness—is crucified with Him. Theologically, this happens at the moment of salvation. Positionally, we move from death to life.

But practically, that death takes time. Every day we’re faced with a choice: will we live for ourselves, or will we live for Christ?

Paul writes again in Galatians 5:24, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Crucifixion is not a one-time event; it’s a daily process. It’s the ongoing decision to say no to the old self and yes to the Spirit.

John Calvin said it this way: “Self-denial is intensive, calling us to give up our natural inclinations, to lay down our flesh, to consent to be nothing, provided God lives and reigns inside of us.”

That’s the essence of discipleship—consenting to be nothing, so Christ can be everything.

In Colossians 3:5, Paul puts it bluntly: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you.” That means killing sin at the root—our pride, lust, greed, anger, selfishness, and comfort-seeking tendencies.

And then in verse 10, he gives us the hope behind the death: “Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator.” We die to be renewed. We die to become more like Jesus.

The Daily Cross

Jesus didn’t say, “Take up your cross once.” He said, “Take up your cross daily.” (Luke 9:23)

That word daily changes everything. It means this isn’t about a one-time act of surrender; it’s about a lifestyle. Every morning when we wake up, we’re faced with the question: Who’s in charge of my life today—me or Jesus?

At Grace Life, I learned to think of it as laying down my rights. The right to be right. The right to be comfortable. The right to get even. The right to be noticed.

When we lay down those rights, we make room for the life of Christ to flow through us. We crucify our passions and desires—not because we’re punishing ourselves, but because we’re freeing ourselves from the chains of self.

Paul says in Galatians 5:16–17 that the flesh and the Spirit are in constant conflict. Every day is a choice between them.

Taking up the cross daily means choosing humility when pride would be easier. It means forgiving when bitterness feels justified. It means serving when we’d rather rest. It means obeying God’s Word even when culture says we’re foolish.

It means dying to our image, our reputation, our comfort zones—and sometimes even our dreams—so that we can live out God’s purpose instead.

When Dying Hurts

Let’s be honest—dying hurts.

Surrender doesn’t come naturally. We want control. We want security. We want to protect ourselves. But Jesus promises that in losing our life, we actually find it (Luke 9:24).

There have been seasons in my life when dying to self felt impossible. Times when God asked me to let go of something I loved deeply, to walk away from comfort, to forgive someone who didn’t deserve it, or to serve in a place that stretched me thin. Every time, I felt the sting of the cross. But every time, I also found resurrection on the other side.

Death always leads to life in the Kingdom of God.

When a seed falls into the ground, it has to die before it can sprout into something new. Jesus said the same in John 12:24: “Unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

The fruit of your life depends on your willingness to die—to your plans, your pride, your control—so Christ can bring something far greater out of you than you could ever produce on your own.

The Cost and the Glory

We live in a world that celebrates self-expression, not self-denial. The message of the cross cuts against everything our culture values. It tells us that life isn’t found in self-fulfillment but in self-sacrifice.

When Jesus says, “Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it,” He’s not being poetic—He’s being practical. True freedom comes when we stop living for ourselves.

The death of self is not the end of joy; it’s the beginning of it. The more we die, the more alive we become.

Think about that: the paradox of the Christian life is that dying brings life, surrender brings strength, and loss brings gain.

When Paul says, “I die daily,” (1 Corinthians 15:31) he’s describing a rhythm of faith. Each day, he laid down his will so God’s will could be done. Each day, he died to sin and lived to righteousness.

And in that dying, he found joy that the world could never give or take away.

What Needs to Die Today?

So let me ask you—have you died today?

What part of your life still clings to control? What dream or habit or hurt is keeping you from full surrender?

Maybe it’s your schedule. Maybe it’s your relationships. Maybe it’s that hidden resentment or fear.

Whatever it is, Jesus is calling you to lay it down—not because He wants to take from you, but because He wants to give you real life.

When we refuse to die, we cut ourselves off from the resurrection power of Christ. But when we surrender—when we take up that cross daily—we find that His life fills us with peace, purpose, and freedom.

Dying Is Living

The world says, “Find yourself.” Jesus says, “Lose yourself.”

The world says, “Follow your heart.” Jesus says, “Deny yourself.”

The world says, “Protect your life.” Jesus says, “Lay it down.”

And yet, in losing, denying, and laying it down, we find everything our hearts were truly made for.

Colossians 3:3 says, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” That’s the secret of discipleship: real life is found in the hiding. When we disappear into Christ, when we stop living for our glory and live for His, we become fully alive.

Our lives become living testimonies of grace. Our choices, our words, our actions—everything—begin to reflect the One who loved us enough to die for us.

All we do and all we are must paint a picture of a people committed to serving God, not the world. To serving the One who laid His life down for us.

Now it’s our turn.

Conclusion: Live Bold. Live Set Free. Live for God.

Bearing our cross isn’t about suffering for suffering’s sake. It’s about surrendering to a love so powerful it changes everything.

Jesus bore His cross to bring us life. Now He invites us to bear ours to live out that life.

To die to self is to live to Christ. To lose your life is to find it.

So have you died today? Have you surrendered your will, your pride, your comfort, your plans?

Because that’s where freedom begins.

Live bold. Live set free. Live for God.