And He summoned the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it."
"For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what could a person give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:34-38
It has been said that Christianity is a simple faith, but it is not easy.
When Jesus calls us, we are commanded to give up our old ways. That is, to stop working only for our own benefit, and start working to further the Gospel. For some people this is difficult because it may result in their friends and, sometimes, even their families turning against them because they do not like the person's changed life.
Jesus point this out when He says, "What does it benefit a person to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?"
Once we understand that choosing to live in a Christian manner has nothing to do with pleasing or not pleasing others, but serving God, it becomes easier to follow Jesus and to unashamedly proclaim Him as our Savior.
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