For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it. Luke 9:24
A number of the world’s religions – so-called Christian and otherwise – have monasteries and similar institutions where members of the religion can gather in seclusion and devotion to their religion. Many of these places feature elements of self-deprivation, enforced silence, extensive fasting, and intense concentration on reciting and memorizing their religion’s so-called holy writings. Most of these monks and nuns believe that they are denying themselves and will therefore find eternal life. Sadly for these poor people they have it all wrong; this is nothing like what the Lord Jesus was referring to when he spoke today’s text. He was speaking of losing our lives for His sake, not for the sake of entering some mystical experience.
Losing our lives for the sake of the Lord Jesus means nothing more or less than handing our lives over to Him, submitting to His will in every instance where His will would conflict with our own. It is as simple as reading our Bibles instead of other books, or going to prayer meeting instead of working a couple of hours of overtime. It is as complex as a career decision based entirely on how best to serve the Lord. It is as immediate as spending time in prayer for an unsaved loved one instead of going for another coffee. Losing our life for Jesus’ sake means whatever is important to us is never as important as what is important to Him. And if we serve Him joyfully, we will find that what is most important to Him becomes most important to us.
When the Lord Jesus said whosoever will save his life shall lose it, He was speaking of trying to save something that cannot be saved except in the short term. No matter how much people try to cram into their lives of wealth, pleasure, power, or anything else, there comes a time when the plug is pulled and it all comes to an end. As the old country song says, there is no trailer hitch on a hearse. So in terms of eternity, saving this life turns out to be a complete waste. But when the Lord Jesus speaks of losing our life for His sake, He is speaking of giving up something that we can never keep for something that we cannot lose. He is remind us that the life devoted to Him is a life that will be saved as deposits in Heaven’s great bank.
If everything of this life is so temporary, and everything for Jesus sake is eternal, the choice should be a pretty simple one to make, shouldn’t it? – Jim MacIntosh