March 11 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

When Winston Churchill became prime minister of Great Britain, he promised "blood, sweat, and tears." Yet, never before has a nation ral­lied to the support of its leader as the British people did in their finest hour. They accepted Churchill and his challenge, because they knew of no other road to victory.

When Christ comes to us with his call to discipleship, he demands self-denial and gives us a cross to bear—"blood, sweat, and tears." We must accept him and his challenge, for there is no other road to victory. All other saviors will lead to defeat.

Self-denial and cross-bearing are two parts of one action for a disciple of Jesus. The meaning is best understood when we look at Christ himself, who refused one way of life and deliberately chose the way of love and obedience.

To deny oneself and bear one's cross involves much more than declin­ing a certain pleasure and putting up with an inconvenience. Some peo­ple think they have performed an act of self-denial when they decline a piece of cake at a party. And some people think that they are bearing the cross of which Christ spoke when they go through the trials common to the human race—instead of the troubles Jesus reserved for his followers.

Just what self-denial and cross-bearing mean cannot be explained in a few words. We cannot learn it in one lesson. It is a way of death and a way of life at the same time. Let's not say too soon that we know it. There is so much to learn on this journey of the disciple! So many old things must be unlearned, and so many new things must be acquired! We should not say that we know all about it before we have seen it all.

REFLECTIONS

Reflect on what "denying yourself" and "taking up your cross" means for you personally today. Then ask God to help you do both.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.