To follow Jesus and enter into Kingdom life, we must be willing to go through what Jesus went through as well as what Mary, John, Moses and many other heroes of the faith went through. If we do not actually have to endure suffering, that is simply good fortune, not because we are specially “blessed.” To follow Jesus authentically is to die to everything the flesh-self holds dear, whether we actually loose them or not. We must die to the quest to avoid of pain and inconvenience; die to the quest for pleasure, power and fame; die to the security of our homes, family, friends and nation; and even die to the certainty of our opinions. Every attempt to gain a personal sense of worth, significance and security by what we do, what we accomplish, what we acquire and who we impress must die.
Jesus commands this much, not because he is mean, but because he is more profoundly in love with us than we could possibly ever imagine. And he knows that it is this false, self-centered way of living that is keeping us from true life. When we have truly died, we discover this. To be free from the self that is addicted to the question: What’s in it for me? is to be truly ALIVE and free. It is to enter into the kingdom of God.
But, as Jesus always taught, you can only find this life if you complete loose your life. [boyd]
It's hard because there's no way to prove this process is "worth it." That's kind of the whole point. Even the good-and-faithful fail at this. And those who are most successful aren't the ones lauded as the best and brightest of humanity. They're counter-cultural to the point that the culture doesn't even know they exist. The only way you can possibly hope to make faith work is by completely believing that it does, choosing it even when you don't believe, and working out your own gift of grace for your entire life. You can't run this up in a lab, you can't logic it out.But you still have a choice, every day, to lose your false life and gain freedom.
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