十九世紀英國主教湯樸威廉（William Temple），有一次在牛津大學講道時，以讚美詩《奇妙十架》的歌詞作為結束。他提醒學生們不要輕忽歌詞的含意，並且說：「如果你真心認同歌詞的含意，就盡情大聲唱；如果你不是真心的，就保持沉默；如果你只是稍稍認同，想要更加認同，那就輕聲地唱。」於是，大家都安靜下來，認真地看著歌詞。漸漸地，成千上萬人開始輕唱，並莊嚴地吟唱最後一句歌詞：「神聖大愛奇妙難測，願獻我命、我心、我身。」

那些牛津大學的學生們明白，相信並跟隨耶穌是一個嚴肅的決定，因這意味著我們接受上帝無比的大愛，這愛要求我們奉獻一切，跟隨基督需要我們整個生命的投入。耶穌明確地對門徒說：「若有人要跟從我，就當捨己，背起他的十字架來跟從我」（馬太福音16章24節）。因此，任何人都不應輕率地做出這樣的選擇。

然而，跟隨耶穌也能使我們得到滿足的喜樂。我們會發現，與耶穌同行才是我們真正渴望的人生。這似乎十分矛盾，但如果我們回應上帝的愛，相信基督，放下個人的私慾，不再追求短暫的快樂，就會得到我們內心所渴望的生命（25節）。

William Temple, a twentieth-century English bishop, once concluded a sermon to Oxford students with the words of the hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” But he cautioned against taking the song lightly. “If you mean [the words] with all your hearts, sing them as loud as you can,” Temple said. “If you don’t mean them at all, keep silent. If you mean them even a little, and want to mean them more, sing them very softly.” The crowd went quiet as everyone eyed the lyrics. Slowly, thousands of voices began to sing in a whisper, mouthing the final lines with gravity: “Love so amazing, so divine / Demands my soul, my life, my all.”

Those Oxford students understood the reality that believing in and following Jesus is a serious choice, because it means saying yes to a radical love that demands everything from us. Following Christ requires our entire life, our whole being. He plainly told His disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). No one should make this choice flippantly.

Yet following Jesus is also the way to our deepest joy. Life with Him, we’ll discover, is the life we truly desire. It appears to be a great paradox. However, if we respond to God’s love, believe in Christ, and relinquish our selfish, shortsighted demands, we’ll find the life our soul craves (v. 25).