“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for Me will save it.” Luke 9:24
For
the longest time, I thought that in this verse Jesus’ main focus was on getting
us to heaven; to get us saved – in other words, if I lose my life for His sake,
I will live forever in heaven. The main focus was on going to heaven
instead of going to hell, because I had a self-centered desire to be
saved. While eternal life is a legitimate goal, I no longer think
that this was Jesus’ intent. I believe that Jesus was, and still is,
looking for people willing to die for something much bigger than themselves -
people who were willing to lose their lives for the greater purposes of the kingdom of God. He taught His disciples
to pray, “Your kingdom come on earth, as it is in heaven.” Jesus was
leading a full-frontal assault on the dark powers of this world, and He was,
and is, looking for people who are willing to lose it all for His purposes.
It
is only when I deal with my fear of death that I really begin to live - what good is it if I am only living for my
own purposes and not the bigger purposes of bringing God’s kingdom to my
world? God is not interested in keeping me safe. He is
more interested in keeping me from a life that is meaningless. God
desires for me to be involved. Committed. All-in. He desires for me
to be willing to put my life on the line for the kingdom of God. How
about you? Paul said it this way; “I have been crucified with
Christ: it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; the life I now
live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)*
Questions
to consider: Who are you living for….who are you really living
for? If you are a Christian, how have you “been crucified with
Christ?” What are you doing to lose your life for Jesus’ sake, and
in that way, advance the kingdom of light in the darkness around you?
Prayer:
Father, may Your kingdom come, here on earth, as it is in
heaven. Help me to be an agent for change in the world You have
given me to live in. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment