True Discipleship : A costly call (surrender & commitment)

Following Jesus is one of the most wonderful things a person can ever do. But it is also one of the most costly. At some point on the journey, every believer comes face to face with what it truly means to follow Him — and the question that rises up is a simple one: Am I really all in?

Matthew 16:24: “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.’”

To deny yourself means putting Jesus first — ahead of your own wants, your own plans, and your own comfort. It is a daily decision to stop living for yourself and start living for Him. That is perhaps harder than it sounds, because most of us are very good at putting ourselves at the centre of things. Denying self is the quiet, ongoing work of surrendering that tendency to the Lord.

Taking up your cross means being willing to follow Jesus even when it costs you. Perhaps it cost your time, or comfort, or the approval of people around you, even your own family. Perhaps it means serving when you would rather rest, or giving when it is genuinely inconvenient.

The cross is not a symbol of defeat — it is a symbol of wholehearted devotion. It marks the point where a faith that is merely surface-level gives way to something deep and real.

And then there is the call to simply follow Him. Follow Him obediently with everything you have. Your time. Your effort. Your resources. All of it placed in His hands and given over to His purposes. This is what it means to be all in.

Romans 12:1: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

Paul calls this your reasonable service. Given everything God has done for you, the cross, the forgiveness, the new life you have been given in Christ, offering yourself back to Him is simply the right response. It is not an extraordinary demand. It is the natural outpouring of a heart that truly understands what grace has cost.

If there is an area of your life you have not yet fully surrendered to Him?

• Bring it to Him today. He is worthy of all of it.

• Deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow Him.

• Give Him your time, your effort, your resources — and trust Him with all that you are.