This episode introduces the second arena in which believers are called to apply the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to their lives, that of self-denial. While Christians use the paradigm of Christ's death and resurrection as a model for dealing with the cross of sin, closely related, but not the same, is our attitude towards everything we have that is NOT sinful. All of our gifts and talents need to placed at the Master's feet and utilized based on HIS leading. The episode also mentions the cross of persecution, the third area in which we apply the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to our lives. The episode affirms that the three crosses carried by Christians (sin, self-denial, and persecution) are inter-related. Our submission to Christ over sin issues naturally affects how we respond to self-denial in other areas and our attitude towards persecution.
