Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1913-01-15
DUTY DENY SELF
Extrast From "0ur Misunder-
sto Bible by the Late
Clay TrumbuIl.

<HF any man would come after
me- said Jesus. let him deny
himself. and take up his cross.
ana FOLLOW me-" Jesus makes
me outy or denying self an essential
requisite or Christian discipleship. A
man cannot be a follower OF Jesus un
less ne denies himself, or. as the Greek
FERN indicates. denies himself utterly.
me requirement is not the denial OF
anything. either little or much. TO self.
out the utter denial or salf-a too oft
en- unrecognized difference
Az the term stands In the Greek.
me injunction OF our Lord to his ey-
cry disciple. to deny himself" in
oiuoes the Idea OF turning ones self
away from ones self. of rejecting
Sell as the desire or self Il suggests
the thought OF two centers-self and
Snr'st-the one TO be denied and the
other TO be accepted, as an object of
attraction and devotedness Its use
IN me original seems to say: IF you
would turn toward me, you must turn
away from yourself IL you would ac-
cept me as the chief object of desire.
you must renounce yourself as such
an object. IL you would henceforward
i've In my service. you must at onco
cease TO live for your own pleasure
and interest"
Real Meaning Of the Summons.
III does not directly enjoin the sup
preston or self, or the overcoming
or self. or the constant battling with
self; but !: calls to the turning away
from self. the ceasing TO live for self.
the practical ignoring or forgetting OF
SELF as q center OF interest and as an
OBJECT or desire. Selfdenial is self.
ignoring In hearty self-surrender..
In every Instance in which our Lord
spoke OF taking up the cross. or OF
bearing the cross as a test of disciple
snip, he used the term in the sense OF
voluntary life-surrender. The disciple
OF Christ must put his life at the dis
posal OF Christ: he must do as Christ
would have him do. rather than as he
might personally prefer to do He
must live and move and be as one
whose life is no longer at his own dis
posal. This must be his new thought
with each new day, and II must con
troll his every act and word and pur-
pose Not the suffering that might &C.
company crucif1xion, but the surrender
or life even to crucifixion for Christi
sake, was signified and symbolized In
bearing the cross, as Lord enjoined.
Just here Is where the convention
al meaning OF the term cross bear
ing differs 80 widely from its bibll-
cal meaning. A cross Ia no longer
understood to be a stake, a gibbet
or gallows; but It includes anything
that crosses, or thwarts, or vexes, or
tries US. In our daily life-path; hence
the bearing OF a cross is now (mistak-
rnly supposed to be the bearing or
enduring OF trials and sufferings. petty
or great. for Christ's sake.
Only Real Crosses.
There is no such thing as little
crosses" I'm ones daily life course. al.
though one often hears such things
spoken Of. If cross is a cross at all
II is big enough to hang on, to die on.
II it is not large enough for that. it
is not a cross in the Bible sense.
II is true that cross-bearinG. as
synonym of voluntary life-surrender,
includes whatever OF suffering. or of
trialenduring. or of personal privation.
may come to one as n disciple OF the
Lord Jesus Christ; but IL is not true
that the essential thing in cross-bear-