The true life of discipleship of a Christian is none other than a life of taking up our cross and following our Lord Jesus, Who had already taken His own cross to the end -- death to the self-life. When we take up our cross to follow the Lord, the process of death begins to set in. Matthew 13 tells us that the "kingdom of the heavens is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: He that sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ... the good seed are the children of the kingdom" (Matt 13: 24,38A). From the standpoint of God as the Husbandman for our life of discipleship, His desire and motive is that we would bring forth "much fruit."

We have often applied this verse -- John 12:24 "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and die, it abides alone, but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit" -- to the Lord Jesus only, but the same principle applies to us as His disciples. Unless we are willing to die not only to the elementary sinful and worldly life, but also our soul life and our very self, there can be little growth and advancement in our Christian life. We need to be willing to be broken and divested down to the very core of our self life (like the germ of life of a seed) -- to where there is nothing left but Christ. Then shall we fully experience Christ as our Life, our Lord and Friend, our Source and Power, our only ever-present Help, our continuous Supply, our All in all.

The Lord Jesus had many disciples (I don't mean just while Jesus was on the earth, but all through the ages), but there is only a handful of those who are privileged to be in the inner circle of His disciples. To share in the inner circle of his disciples, we are called to deeper fellowship with Him by being willing to pay the great price of losing our self-life in order "to know Him and the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformed to His death" (Phi 3:11). Lest this word sounds a bit morbid, we need to keep in mind that death to our self is not an end in itself, it is merely an entrance into the resurrection life of Christ -- more abundant life and a more fruitful life. To those who lose our soul-life for Christ... take comfort; for in losing we shall find our life anew... with greater vigor, and tap into Christ our Source that is richer, fuller, deeper -- a Source that is inexhaustible. Yet it is impossible for us to share in this life until we daily carry our cross to die to our sinful nature, the world, and our self; only then shall we abide in the unbroken sweet fellowship and enter into the true life of discipleship to our crucified and Risen Lord!