Soldier Up – A Call to the Narrow Road

Following Jesus is not a casual decision. It is not a hobby to pick up when it is convenient, nor a tradition to inherit from our parents. It is not a Sunday morning ritual or a midweek appointment. Following Jesus is a violent rupture with the old life. It is a burning of bridges, a closing of doors, a death to self that is so complete that the world looks on in confusion and the flesh screams in protest. It is not a stroll through a flower garden. It is a march into war. It is the narrow road that few find, because few are willing to bleed for what they say they believe.

We live in an age where discipleship has been reduced to comfort and consumerism. People are told that Jesus wants to make them better versions of themselves, as though the goal were self improvement. That is a lie. Jesus did not come to improve the old man. He came to crucify him. He did not come to decorate the tomb. He came to roll away the stone and call the dead out into resurrection life. But resurrection requires a grave. Resurrection demands death. And the reason so many never walk in power is because they refuse to die.

You will bleed if you walk this road. You will lose things you thought you needed. You will feel the tearing away of relationships that cannot walk with you into the fire. You will be misunderstood, rejected, even hated. The words of Paul echo like thunder in our ears: I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live. Christ lives in me. Crucifixion was not a metaphor. It was agony. It was exposure. It was the stripping of dignity and the draining of life. And Paul said, That is what has happened to me. That is the essence of discipleship. Anything less is a counterfeit gospel.

The problem is that we have been trained to believe that following Jesus is a negotiation. That we can surrender some things and hold back others. That we can walk near the cross but never climb onto it. That we can keep our idols tucked away in secret while still lifting our hands in worship. That is deception. The Christ who saves is the Christ who kills the old you. The Christ who redeems is the Christ who demands everything. If anyone would come after me, He said, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. Not deny his vices. Deny himself. Not occasionally when it feels noble. Daily. Every morning, another death. Every night, another surrender.

This life costs everything. And the sooner we stop sugarcoating it, the sooner we will raise up a remnant that is actually ready for the war we are in. You do not get the empty tomb without the cross. You do not walk in victory while negotiating with the sins you have secretly baptized as harmless. Lust must die. Pride must die. Greed, bitterness, envy, comfort, the desire to be seen and applauded—every last one of them must be nailed down until they breathe no more. This is not about managing your issues. This is about crucifying them.

You may lose your reputation. You may lose your job. You may lose your sense of security. The Kingdom redefines family, time, money, and purpose. Vacations, hobbies, entertainment—these are not inherently evil, but when they exist only to feed the flesh, they must be put on the altar. Leisure is redefined in the presence of God. Family time is redefined around the advancement of the Kingdom. Everything gets reordered when Christ becomes King.

And this is where the dividing line is drawn. Many want Jesus as Savior, but few will have Him as King. Savior rescues. King rules. Savior delivers you from hell. King delivers you from yourself. Savior is celebrated. King is obeyed. And obedience will take you through fire. You will endure hardship as a good soldier. You will stand when everything in you wants to retreat. You will keep pressing when your flesh begs to quit. Because soldiers do not live for comfort. Soldiers live for conquest.

Conquest requires casualties. The death of the old you is not an option. It is a necessity. The pruning of relationships is not punishment. It is preparation. The stripping of idols is not cruelty. It is kindness. The Father loves you too much to let you carry into the Kingdom what cannot survive its fire. He will not allow your lust to sit beside His holiness. He will not permit your greed to take root in His vineyard. He is jealous for a pure bride, not a distracted mistress. And so He burns. He prunes. He pierces. He crucifies. Because He loves.

The call is not to self improvement but to self death. We are not here to become better versions of ourselves. We are here to become no longer ourselves at all. Christ in us. The hope of glory. The new creation does not resemble the old. It is not a polished version of what was. It is the miracle of what never was before. And the path to that miracle is paved with surrender and sacrifice.

This is not for the faint of heart. This is not for those who want to play church games or live in lukewarm compromise. This is for those who are ready to be forged into warriors. Those who are willing to carry scars as evidence of their allegiance. Those who understand that the cross is not jewelry but an execution stake. Those who will not bow to pressure but will stand in fire. Those who understand that crowns are not handed out for participation but for perseverance. There is no crown without the cross. There is no Kingdom without surrender. There is no victory for those who retreat.

Heaven is not looking for casual attenders. Heaven is not moved by part time worshippers. Heaven is searching the earth for those whose hearts are fully His. Hell trembles when it finds them. Demons flee when they see them coming. Because the world cannot break a man who has already died. The enemy cannot threaten a woman who has already surrendered everything. What do you take from someone who has laid it all down? What do you threaten them with when they have already counted the cost?

So when it hurts, soldier up. When it costs more than you imagined, soldier up. When you are weary and wounded and the whisper to quit grows loud, soldier up. You were not built for retreat. You were born for fire. The world is watching. Heaven is cheering. Hell is trembling. And Jesus is worthy of it all.

This is the way of the cross. This is the only way to resurrection. And this is the invitation laid before us. Not to comfort, but to conquest. Not to safety, but to surrender. Not to self improvement, but to self death. And on the other side of that death, the life of Christ Himself. That is the call. That is the cost. That is the crown. Soldier up.

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