In order to be a disciple we must deny ourselves – this is to exercise authority over our own spirit. We must take up the cross – this is to submit to Christ’s authority. And we must follow – this is continued obedience. This is the road not to confinement, to bondage, to a stunted or arrested development, but to total personal freedom. It means not death but life, not a narrowly circumscribed life but “abundant” life.