“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” -Luke 9:23

What if following Jesus was never meant to be about simply becoming a better version of ourselves?

That’s the question that keeps coming up in each of our blog posts.

Because sometimes, if we’re honest, we can approach our relationship with God as though Jesus came to improve the life we already have. We want Him to make us better, strengthen us, bless our plans, and help us become the person we want to be.

But what if Jesus is asking for something much deeper than that?

What if He isn’t asking us to simply improve ourselves, but to surrender ourselves?

Chapter 3 of Follow Me really helps us to see the true difference between looking like we follow Jesus and actually following Him. We can know the Scriptures, attend church, worship, serve, and speak the language of faith while still holding tightly to our own desires and our own way.

And that’s where Jesus’ words in Luke 9:23 become so powerful.

He tells us that if we want to be His disciples, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him.

Daily.

That word gets me.

Because following Jesus isn’t just about a decision we made once. It’s a decision we continue making when obedience is uncomfortable, when God’s direction doesn’t match our plans, and when surrender requires us to let go of something we really wanted to keep.

The cross wasn’t about comfort. It was about surrender.

And Jesus tells us to take ours up and follow Him.

So maybe following Jesus isn’t about becoming a better version of ourselves at all.

Following him has to mean allowing Him to transform us into something we could never become on our own.

There will be moments when God asks us to surrender our plans because He has something different for us. There will be moments when our flesh says, “I want this,” while the Spirit is leading us in another direction. There will be moments when following Him requires us to trust Him without knowing the outcome.

And that’s the challenge of discipleship.

We don’t get to follow Jesus while insisting on remaining in control.

At some point, we have to ask ourselves a very uncomfortable question:

Am I following Jesus, or am I simply trying to fit Jesus into the life I want?

Because those are two very different things.

Jesus isn’t looking for a version of us that has simply learned how to appear more religious. He’s calling us into a life that has been genuinely changed by Him.

And sometimes that transformation begins with a death. …..The death of our need to have everything our way.

So, I want to leave you with this:

What if the thing God is asking you to surrender is the very thing standing between you and the life He is calling you to?