Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Like 14:26-27

There comes a time for Jesus Follower that we must come to attend our own funeral. We must reconcile in our own hearts and minds that death to self and selfishness is the only way to obtain the life Christ has for us. Bearing our cross means we die to our sinful desires so as to experience the life Christ has for us even in this body. This is why Paul wrote Romans 12:1 which says:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,  holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Attending your own funeral sounds morbid but it’s not meant to be. For the Jesus Follower it is the pinnacle event in life to yield oneself to the Holy Spirit and allow Christ to permeate our hearts and minds in order to accomplish His work in and through us. God uses people surrendered to Him. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 6:33 to seek God’s kingdom first…this means that what He wants for us becomes our greatest desire. We seek Him and His kingdom not our own because “dead” people have no kingdom.

Jesus isn’t desiring for us to “hate” our families or “hate” ourselves. Rather He is inviting us to love Him more than any other person in our lives… to love Him more than we love ourselves. When we get to that point, we die metaphorically to everything. We attend a funeral of sorts and yield our spirits to God for His use on earth.

Have you attended your own funeral?

Have you surrendered everything to Christ?

Are you bearing your cross daily?

Are you seeking His Kingdom or your own?

What does bearing your own cross look like?