Losing life, finding life

Losing life, finding life

Scripture:-

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 

Matthew 16:25-26

Observation:-

Wow! What a paradox! If we want to save our life, we lose it, but if we lose our life for Jesus we find it! What does it mean? The Lord goes on further… Why gain the whole world yet lose your soul? Whatever can be given to you that is worth your soul? As He said this, the Lord no doubt would have remembered His encounter with the devil during His temptation in the desert when He was brought to a very high mountain and shown the splendor of all the kingdoms of the world. There and then, the devil had offered the Lord all these kingdoms, if He would only bow down and worship him. Then, the Lord promptly rebuked the devil with Scripture “Away from me Satan! For it is written, “worship the Lord your God and serve Him only”.

Today, the devil is still active offering great temptations in various forms, all for the purpose of ensnaring our souls. Money, fame, sex and power have been the popular carrots throughout history but there are also many other temptations fitted specially to each person with the aim to ensnare us.

What does it mean to save one’s life? In the preceding verse, the Lord had spoke about our need to deny ourselves, to take up our cross and to follow Him. Could it be that the Lord was referring to a time when we would literally have to choose between losing our life or renouncing Christ? Certainly, if we stand firm in our loyalty to Jesus even at the cost of death, He has promised to acknowledge us before His Father in Heaven. In China, during the darkest of the persecution years, horror stories have been heard of Christian mothers being given the choice of renouncing Christ or having their children taken away from them. No doubt, in its most literal sense, we as Christians may face such difficult situations where we have to save our life and lose Jesus, or lose our life for Jesus and find true life.

However, on a more common day to day basis, saving our life would refer to either doing thing God’s way or do it our way. Obeying God may mean having to let go of certain habits, or changing our occupation or closing down a lucrative business. It could mean going out of our way to help a poor mother in need, or showing kindness to a mean colleague or forgiving competitive enemies. We are constantly confronted with such choices, and we have to decide whether to maintain our way of life or lose it and do it as Jesus leads us. As we learn to obey, we will truly find out that the Lord’s way, albeit so much harder at the beginning, is actually the far better way.

What could anyone give in exchange for his soul? Our soul is precious. It is for eternity. The pleasures in the world are fleeting, so temporary and insignificant in the light of eternity. We need to always keep that eternal perspective before us, lest we be cheated of our destiny for only very temporary “gain”.

Application:

Endeavor to live by the Spirit, by constantly assessing the way we do things, whether we are doing it God’s way or our way. Seek to align our habits, our goals, our priorities with that of the Lord’s. Some things would be really difficult for us. Some habits we really like can be very hard to drop. Ask the Lord for mercy and help to follow His will.

Adopt an eternal mindset. Consider all things with an eternal perspective. In so doing, we will find that what seemed so important previously may be trivial in the light of eternity.

In time to come, if we ever face a situation where we have to choose between death and renouncing Christ, remember that in losing our life for Jesus, therein will we find true life….

Prayer

Praise thee, Heavenly Father, for You hold all things in Your hands. I submit my life to You, O Lord. Teach me to live by Your Spirit. Teach me to submit my will to Yours. Give me strength and discipline I pray, to give up the habits that hold me back, to rethink my priorities from an eternal perspective, and to focus on doing Your will above all the temporary pleasures this world can offer. Give me strength and courage in the face of trials. Let me ever be faithful to You O Lord. Though my earthly life be taken from me, let me always stay true to You, Lord Jesus. In Jesus name, Amen.