Our Lord in the Gospels, in both word and deed, persistently reminds us to lay down our lives as a sacrifice. This includes the famous verses: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (Jn. 15:12-14), and, “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Mt. 16:25). In these two particular verses, Jesus shows us what it means to die to oneself. It means to die for Him, as we are His friends if we do what He asks us to do, which is to allow our entire selves, body and soul, to die for Him as He did for us on Calvary. This is not a “good-pagan” kind of act where at the end of an honorable life comes a good reputation in death and no eternal beatitude, but, rather, we are promised that those who die for not just a higher good, but the Most High God in Jesus Christ, will gain eternal life and will have all their fallen desires perfected and fulfilled to an infinite degree.
Dying to oneself is not natural to us in a fallen world. My self without grace would rather have an All-American flatbread with bacon from Flat Breads every day, but Christ calls us to perfection in all aspects of our lives, saying “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). This means that we are called to choose what is objectively most in accordance with the new law of love Christ gave us, especially in denying our disordered appetites that often seek pleasure outside the purpose and nature of a particular good. Food is a smaller thing (though not unimportant), and, don’t get me wrong, on the right occasion and with the right intention, Flat Breads is definitely the move, but there are yet greater sacrifices that will be placed on us if we want to follow the perfect will of God.
This will entail choosing a vocation with a heart open and generous to God’s designs, going out of your way to help others who are struggling with the Faith or personal problems, and, most importantly, rejecting the powers of the world, the flesh, and the devil at all times, regardless of the cost (including death), to allow God to save your soul and work through you to bring others out of darkness and to Him.
We make thousands of decisions every day and it’s good to reflect on these through personal prayer with Jesus, but it’s especially vital that we consider the things we really love, that to which we give the most time and effort, and see if it really aligns with the perfect will of God. Ask yourself, “What topic occupies my mind the most? What will the activities, jobs, and major I have do to make God’s Kingdom come in greater glory on earth? What am I doing today to become more like Christ on the Cross?” These and other hard questions can only be looked at honestly with the acknowledgement of Christ’s presence there. When we acknowledge and realize His presence and goodness, we become more willing to die for Him and to our own fallen desires, not leaving any part of our lives hidden or not thought about, so that we can cast away all that we hold as an unconscious or conscious idol. You will live if you do this; the kind of life Jesus has in store for you, is joy at its heart, sehnsucht, surrounded by (redeemable) suffering to some degree in this life that becomes life unclouded and filled with complete joy in the next. Jesus is honest and kind and offers you the best option; the only other option is sorrow, surrounded by momentary pleasure, followed by eternal sorrow in the next life.
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live” (Dt. 30:19).
Max Montana is a senior studying philosophy and theology. When not writing for The Torch, he enjoys reading more about the Catholic faith and philosophy, serving the unborn and mothers in need, and hanging out with friends. Max is honored to hail from the state with many gators and the bishop of the moon: Florida.
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