The reason Jesus came to earth and lived as a man was to die. His purpose from birth was to lay down His life so that we might live (Mark 10:45; John 10:10–11). . Now we must surrender our lives and let Him live through us. If we are to be genuine disciples of Jesus, we must spend our lives living to die (Luke 9:23–24; John 12:24–25). We must die to our passions and dreams. Die to our hopes and ambitions, and die to everything we ever wanted to be.
The funny thing about death is that it means the end of us, and until we come to the end of ourselves, we will never understand what it means to be alive (Matthew 16:25). If we would walk as Jesus walked, we must die to everything and everyone (Luke 14:26–27). Having been crucified with Christ, we no longer live (Galatians 2:19-20; Colossians 3:3).
The only way to eternal life is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), and the only way to Christ is to lay aside everything that is not of Christ (Hebrews 12:1; Philippians 3:7–8). Living to die means giving up your notions of freedom and surrendering to life as a slave of Jesus. Those aren’t easy words, and they aren’t words one should contemplate in a casual manner. The narrow path is not for everyone (Matthew 7:13–14). Many desire to have what Christ offers, but few are chosen to receive it (Matthew 22:14).
When the rich man asked Jesus what he was lacking in terms of salvation, Jesus told him to divest himself of all his possessions (Matthew 19:21–22). One can carry only so much baggage on the narrow road, after all. Such a sacrifice was too much for that man, and it is too much for most of us. We want all this world offers and then Jesus too. We live for ourselves and hope our meager attempts at worship will be good enough when we die. They won’t be (Matthew 7:21–23).
Most spend their lives dying to live a luxurious and easy life. True followers of Christ spend their lives living to die to all the pleasures of this world so they might obtain the ultimate treasure of Jesus (Matthew 6:19–21; Philippians 3:8). If you consume yourself with pursuing success, wealth, pleasure, or notoriety, you are missing the entire point. You are going to die, and all of your so-called achievements will die with you (Ecclesiastes 2:18–19; Luke 12:20–21). Your luxuries will disappear in an instant, but you won’t be so lucky. You will spend eternity in the pain and torment of knowing you lived for the wrong things and can never repent. Your pain will be harsh, real, and eternal (Matthew 25:46; Revelation 14:11).
Surrender is non-negotiable in coming to Jesus. If you want to bring anything from this world into your walk with Christ, don’t even bother coming to Him. You aren’t genuine in your desire to worship Him as Lord. Those with a foot in this world and a foot in Christianity are those whom the Lord will turn away, saying He never knew them (Matthew 7:21–23). We are not free; we are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). No, we are slaves purchased with the blood of Jesus (1 Peter 1:18–19; Revelation 5:9), and as such, we find life only in our service to Him. He is our Master, Lord, and Savior, and we desire nothing apart from Him (Philippians 1:21). That is what it means to follow Jesus. If you aren’t living to die, you aren’t living at all. You are only marking time until an eternity in Hell.