Lord, I must come to terms with the “ifs” of endurance. I thank You, Father, that You are infinitely able to secure my salvation, but You do not encourage tasters, sippers, and triers-out. I must therefore wrestle with that weighty word of Paul: “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us” (2 Timothy 2:12).
To deny Christ means to pretend I do not know Him in situations in which knowing Him would be an embarrassment. I can deny Christ in business, in social circles, in my family, and even in my church. Denying Him means my discipleship is a convenience, and when it ceases to be convenient to me I simply throw it off like a coat.
If I make a practice of denying Christ, surely I will pay a penalty. The time will certainly come when, in desperation, I ask for help and God will find it “convenient” not to hear me (Isaiah 59:1–2). If I maintain the right to choose when I should or should not behave like a disciple, it means there is something drastically wrong with my commitment. The word choose drops from a true disciple’s vocabulary once he has surrendered himself to his Lord.
I cannot be a part-time disciple. There is no such thing as trial discipleship. God will not accept my discipleship if I deliberately snub His Son for worldly gain and for the praise of men. However, even though I may fail, stumble, and fall, God will graciously forgive and set me going again. He will heal my faithlessness and love me freely, for His anger is turned away (Hosea 14:4).
“And He summoned the multitude with His disciples, and said to them, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me’” (Mark 8:34).
Daily with the King 