"Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."

Monday musical meditations on God's good news

An opening prayer:

The heavens declare your glory, Lord,

In every star your wisdom shines;

But when our eyes behold your word,

We read your name in fairer lines.

The rolling sun, light’s changing blend,

The night and day— your pow’r, they trace;

But the blest volume you have penned

Reveals your justice and your grace.

Sun, moon, and stars convey your praise

Around the earth, and never stand;

So when your truth began its race,

It touched and glanced on every land.

Nor shall your spreading gospel rest

Till through the world your truth has run,

Till Christ has all the nations blest,

That see the light or feel the sun.

Great Sun of righteousness, arise,

The dark world bless with heavenly light:

Your gospel makes the simple wise;

Your laws are pure, your judgments right. Amen.

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:
²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters— yes, even his own life— he cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
²⁸ “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?
²⁹ For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
³¹ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. ³³ In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”

Jesus tells two stories. He has an important point to make:
So he illustrates it, and he repeats it.
The point is that if you don't die to yourself, you can't be his disciple (14:27).
Why would Jesus say this on his way to go die for you on the cross?
What difference will it make for you today?

BWV 8 (YouTube, "Dearest God, when shall I die?")
What a sobering truth: Not only is our time on earth short, when we die we become earth.
The cantata pictures us every day tilting a little further toward earth, for soon we die.
Our only inheritance is God's faithfulness, new every morning.