Self-renunciation and discipleship of Jesus

"In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple."  (Luke 14: 33)

Self-renunciation is a non-negotiable point for discipleship of Jesus Christ
Christ is the Way.  The Way is the way of the cross.  It is the way of suffering, contradiction, disappointment, delay and obstacles. The way of the cross passes through the 7 war zones: Health, Family, Finances, Job, Tools and Future.  Any or all of them can be the call for self-renunciation.

What do we renounce?  We renounce our will.  Our will stands between us and the will of God.  The will of God is supreme.  It is also our supreme good and our peace.  Our will is in perpetual contest with the will of God.  The will of God is revealed to us every moment of our life.  The providence of God is here and now.  It is in this step, this event and this moment.

The contest between our will and the will of God is a struggle between truth and falsehood.  The Truth is Jesus Christ Himself.  Satan is the Father of lies. Why does our will tend to gravitate naturally towards falsehood and evil?  Even after we become members of the family of God through Baptism, we still struggle all our life against the forces of concupiscence.

To defeat the forces of concupiscence, we just practice self-denial everyday, says the Lord.  We are challenged to take up our cross everyday and follow Jesus.  Blessed John Henry Newman teaches that self-denial must be daily.  He confirms the long experience of Christian tradition.  Taking up our cross everyday to follow Jesus is not so surprising when we remember that we are commanded to pray:  "Give us this day our daily bread."  What is critical to life must be done daily, always and everywhere.  Self-renunciation is not an exception.

Where am I called to renounce my will and take of my cross today and follow Jesus?  When I accept God's disposal of events for me which is His providence always and everywhere, I embrace the will of God and not my will.  Rejection of the cross is rejection of Jesus.  Acceptance of our cross comes with unbelievable joy and peace.