What Falls Away Is Not Wasted
by Donavon L Riley

It is not hard to be Christian—it is impossible. No one, in their right mind, willingly steps onto a path that, the more truthfully it is followed, leads directly to their own unraveling. And yet, this is the unyielding invitation of Christ: to let go of everything you thought was solid, everything you believed was yours to hold. The Christian way is not one of comfort or security; it is the way of destruction, a slow undoing. We rebel against it, try to ease its demands, to make our lives half-Christian, to carve a compromise with the world. But there is no middle ground. Either the cross falls upon us, or we are swallowed whole by the world. One must die, and the question is, which one?

We resist the crucifixion not out of ignorance, but because we know what it asks. It is not simply a matter of belief; it is the laying down of everything we have built to save ourselves. We try to make it easier—pretend we can straddle both worlds, keep one foot in Christ and the other in comfort. But the two do not mix. Christ asks for everything or nothing. We cannot half-follow him and expect the full reward. And so, we cry out, like those at the edge of themselves: “God, give us the strength to walk the path of crucifixion.” Not because it is easy, but because it is the only way to the life we were made to live.

The way of Christ does not offer safety or success. It offers destruction—the kind that makes room for new life. We want resurrection without death, glory without suffering, light without darkness. But the cross is not a detour; it is the road itself. We do not choose it because it is convenient, but because it is the only choice that can break us open. In the death we die on that road, we are remade. What falls away is not wasted. It is transformed, remade by grace, so that we can finally live as we were meant to, free from the fear of death, alive in a world that is waiting for us to be born into it. The impossible truth is this: the death of the self is not the end, but the beginning, and only by embracing it can we find the life we seek.