In several different areas of my life, I have experienced the truth of the fact that the things that are hardest are often the most rewarding and beneficial experiences. In college, the hardest classes with the most demanding professors are usually the ones in which you learn the most. They are also usually the classes that build the strongest sense of camaraderie among the students. When you’re hiking or camping, the longest and most difficult trails often lead to the most breathtaking scenery, delighting your eyes with remote and expansive vistas that could never be reached by a short, easy trail. Simply put, the best things in life are seldom easy. 

It’s easy to recognize this truth in areas of our life related to education, career, health, and recreation, but let’s not forget that something very similar is also true of our walk with the Lord. It would be a grave mistake to assume that following Jesus should be an easy matter. When you’re in the thick of it this week and it feels like the hardest thing in the world to make that Christ-like decision, speak that Christ-like word, or offer that Christ-like forgiveness, remember that there is growth in the struggle. And remember that a life of self-denial is exactly what our Lord has called us to as his followers. But remember also that you have a soul that is daily becoming either more godly or more ungodly, that there is eternity in the balance, and that just a moment in the presence of God will make all the sufferings in this life be forgotten. Without the motivation that comes from these truths, we will balk at Jesus’ stringent call to discipleship. Listen to what he said to his disciples. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:23–24).

Jesus’ program for following him includes three elements. First, you must deny yourself. We naturally tend to regard our own wants and wishes and comfort as the most important values for decision-making in life, but when we become a follower of Jesus, self gets displaced and instead of doing what we want to do, we do what Christ wants us to do. Second, you must take up your cross. God asks everything of us, including potentially our very life. If you wake up every morning and begin your day intent on living your life for God, even if that means dying for him, then the actual inconveniences you will face most days will seem quite small by comparison. Third, you must follow him. Jesus’ teachings and the example of his life become the example we seek to reproduce in our life. None of this will be easy, but God’s blessings for those who deny self, take up the cross, and follow Jesus will make it all so worth it!