"Deny yourselves...and follow me."

     Be in the world and not of the world. This is told spoken about all around different Christian circles. It is something that every Christian has been called to. The world all around up tries to influence us to do certain things like “dress to impress,” which tells girls and boys from a young age that they have to dress in a provocative way in order to attract the attention, and ultimately love, of another. This goes against what the Bible teaches about looking at the heart of a person, as God does, rather than their appearances, which will fade with time. Culture teaches people that being sexy is the greatest compliment a person can receive, when the Bible teaches that the only person who should think one is sexy is his or her spouse. Beauty and love have been turned into self-centered, twisted things, where beauty is what causes lust and love is what makes you happy or feel good. This is not the love that Christ showed on the cross. Being utterly tortured and humiliated did not make Him feel good. I struggle with each of these examples to certain degrees. It can be hard not to dress pretty in order not to get people to notice me (even while staying modest).  It can be hard in friendships to realize that loving my friends is not about what I get out of the relationship, but about how I can love them and walk with them towards the Lord. But this is what God has called me to; humility and other-centeredness. Calvin writes how important self-denial is in the life of a believer. He writes, “the denial of ourselves will leave no room for pride.” Without self-denial, we refuse to become humble by submitting ourselves unto God's will rather than our own. And this is exactly with Christ did. He submitted himself to the Father in humility, denying the desires of his flesh to flee death and suffering.