"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23)
In the book The Empty Church, historian Thomas C. Reeves says, “Christianity in modern America . . . tend to be easy, exhilarating, comfortable, and compatible. There is no need for self-sacrifice, discipline, humility, a view of the world to be after death, desire for souls, fear and love of God. There is little guilt and no condemnation, and the rewards in heaven are essentially certain. What we have today might very well be labeled 'Consumer Christianity'. Prices are cheap and customer satisfaction seems guaranteed.”
If we are only consumers of the Mighty God, we can be selective in our faith and reject anything we don't like. But that is not the idea we get from Jesus. He directs us to the cross, not to the spiritual goods checking table. He said, “Everyone who wants to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life, he will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:23,24). Christ died on the cross for our sins, not for our satisfaction.
In this world, where consumers are always on the right side, it takes radical obedience to God to keep us from participating in “Consumer Christianity” —David McCasland
FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT ALWAYS EASY, BUT ALWAYS TRUE