The daily cross

“…If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it” (Luke 9:23, 24). The Christian paradox of holiness: being holy but in the process of becoming holy. The holiness granted (ref) to us comes with great privileges: -the right to call God “Abba” – Father; -the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit…our bodies – temples of the Holy Spirit; -the privilege of being called friends, brothers and sisters of Jesus; etc. -unrestricted access to the throne of God; -participation in the heavenly exaltation of Christ (seated with Him). The holiness granted to us comes with one responsibility: to become holy: to grow spiritually; to mature. Now, growth/maturity comes naturally IF the necessary conditions are present. The theological term for this spiritual growth is sanctification. Here is a definition of sanctification: “Sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives.” Grudem, Wayne A. in his Systematic Theology. Note that sanctification is a progressive work: God’s and ours; its aim is to see us attaining Christ-likeness; it is a lifelong work. When will we be like Him? (1John 3:2). The words quoted at the top are actually our Lord’s words. No dictionary is needed to understand them. They contain the most important aspects of spiritual growth, without which progress/sanctification will not be made. These are: denial of self; carrying our cross daily and following Jesus. At first sight these words may not belong to an exposition of sanctification. But if we read them carefully and look at the way Jesus lived His life on earth, we will have a better understanding of the life long process of becoming holy. Pastor Alois