30/08/2026
𝟐𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
“𝑊ℎ𝑜𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑦 ℎ𝑖𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓, 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑢𝑝 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑒." (Matthew 16:24)
When we hear these words of Jesus, we may think that following Him means giving up many things. But “denying ourselves” does not mean hating ourselves or rejecting the good desires we have. Rather, it means letting go of our ego our selfishness, pride, self-centeredness, and the desire to always put ourselves first.
Every day, we all have our own “crosses”: difficulties, people who hurt us, and situations that do not go the way we want. Following Jesus does not mean running away from these things, but learning to accept them with faith and love.
Sometimes, denying ourselves simply means choosing to remain silent instead of arguing, forgiving instead of holding a grudge, giving instead of thinking only about ourselves, and serving instead of waiting to be served.
Most importantly, Jesus does not simply tell us to “deny ourselves,” but to “follow Me.” We let go of our ego so that we can follow Him, become more like Him, and love as He loves. When we learn to entrust our lives to God, we do not lose ourselves. Instead, we discover the true meaning and purpose of our lives.
✒️Nov. Peter Viet Tranh Dinh