Christ Jesus said to his disciples (Matt. 16:24), "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." And then this seemingly stern exhortation was quickly followed by the glorious words, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."
In a beautiful passage which might be said to parallel that of the Master, our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, mentions the same rich rewards for denying material selfhood. She says (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 185), "Self-renunciation of all that constitutes a so-called material man, and the acknowledgment and achievement of his spiritual identity as the child of God, is Science that opens the very flood-gates of heaven; whence good flows into every avenue of being, cleansing mortals of all uncleanness, destroying all suffering, and demonstrating the true image and likeness."
What are some of the things that constitute a so-called material man? Physicality, birth, growth, maturity, decay, death. A false concept of man keeps closed the floodgates of heaven. A dictionary defines the word "renounce" as "to give up, abandon, or resign"; and also "to disclaim; to repudiate; cast off." We need not think that by repudiating materiality we are giving up anything real or good. We gain sweet freedom instead.
