Read (from the New Living Translation)

³⁷ “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. ³⁸ If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. ³⁹ If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.

Matthew 10:37-39

Go Deep

Time to take a step back. You know you should follow Christ – even through suffering – but what does following Christ actually look like?

Darren from We Are Messengers shares the verses that have both challenged and encouraged him when following Christ turned out harder than he thought it would be.

Darren says, “If we’re gonna follow His calling, we’re gonna have to risk it all… He says that there will be times that following Him is gonna hurt… But following Him is worth doing… I know this, God needs us to lose part of ourselves so we can become more intimate with Him.”

Sometimes we cling too tightly to things we love or want or hope for. Those hopes are not bad. But they’re not as important as following Christ and letting Him write our story.

Darren sees the Lord at work in His life, but it doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Maybe it’s the same in your life. Maybe things aren’t looking like you hoped. Maybe God has called you to a life that’s harder than you were expecting. Rest assured that He’s still at work and that the journey worth it. You are part of a bigger story – one that glorifies the perfect Creator who loves you.

“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

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