You may be saying, "Jack, this is heavy stuff. Lighten up a little. Let's talk about the stuff we gain when we come to Christ." I love to talk about that too, because when you follow Jesus you gain everything worth having. We could even say that the cross is a plus sign.

But the Christian life is a subtraction as well as an addition. Jesus said we have to lose our lives in terms of this world before we can save them. Turning to Christ means turning away from sin, self, and the world. It means dying to ourselves every day and taking up our cross to follow Jesus to Calvary.

We often talk about the need to make a decision for Christ, because that's exactly what is involved. It's coming to a decisive point — an unmistakable fork in the road that leads to two totally different destinations — and saying, "I choose Christ, wherever He leads me."

If you've ever been on skis or skates, you know what happens when your feet start taking separate routes. You are going down, because your body cannot go in two directions at once.

Neither can your soul. I'm especially concerned about men who are standing at a critical fork in the road today and deciding they can keep one foot in the world and one in the church. They used to be called Sunday Christians, but you can call them cultural Christians or any other term you want. The result is the same, because when a man tries to take the broad road and the narrow road at the same time, his heart is hopelessly divided, and he winds up being miserable in both worlds.

You Can Step Up Today and Take the Narrow Road with Christ

My brother, you cannot live in the world and in Christ. You won't get anywhere in either sphere; and more importantly, Jesus will not accept divided loyalty from those who want to be His disciples. The two paths He gave us in Mark 8 are not save/save and gain/gain in terms of being able to enjoy the world's best and His best at the same time. There is a loss that precedes the gain in terms of surrendering the earthly that we may lay hold of the heavenly.

You probably remember the saying, "Finders keepers, losers weepers." But Jesus said, "Keepers weepers, losers finders." When we lose our life in surrender and sacrifice to Christ, we find the joy, power, purpose, and eternal life He has for us.

I'm convinced this is what you want, or you probably wouldn't be reading this. So let me mention some decisions you can make that will help you as you choose the narrow road.

Decide You Will Be a Promise Keeper. I'm grateful for the Promise Keepers movement that has helped thousands of men in this generation discover the power and joy of living for Christ. But every man of God needs to decide that he will keep his promises to God and will be His sold-out follower. He also needs to keep his promises to his family, his church, his employer — and even to himself. Keeping our word is at the very heart of a life of integrity.