Seriously
“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39
WHAT in the *heck* does this mean?
Seriously – we say we must lose our lives to find it – we might even have a T-Shirt or something that hangs on our wall that has reference to this verse. We talk about it church and in our small groups and we all nod and smile with that smile that says, “Yes Lord. I have given my life away for you.”
I remember a time when I was sitting in my multi-million dollar mega-church back in Iowa nodding and smiling as the Pastor spoke on losing your life to gain abundant life.
Nod….Smile…Nod again. I thought I understood.
But God is seriously in the business of helping us find abundant life. Serious like a heart-attack. So, when I prayed several years ago for God to have His will in my life, I added, “No matter what that means, Lord. I really have given my life to you…seriously.” He took me seriously.
Losing your life is painful, scary, and often brutal. When you are serious about going deeper in your journey with Jesus, you often find the comfortable, cushy rug of your security ruthlessly yanked away from you. Whatever you cling to harder than you cling to Jesus is strategically taken down like a special ops unit takes down a terrorist.
Out here on the road I’ve run into many people seriously living out the abundant life. Each one of them has a similar story, God took shook the very foundation of their lives and securities. After the earthquake and the aftershocks were finished, their earthly lives seemed devastated. From the eyes of this world, they had failed miserably.
In the midst of the rubble of their life, they saw a glimmer of hope. As they stepped forward in the faith that God had not abandoned them, that glimmer became a beacon of light urging them on to a new, uncharted life of promise and purpose. The further they walked, the more fruit they see spilling out of their new life.
So, seriously, what does losing your life to find it mean to you?
