A Word from Pastor Stephen – April 23, 2020

“He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.”(Matthew 10:39 RSV)

When Jesus talks about losing our lives for him, he is not necessarily taking about our physical life. Although, many people have literally given up their physical lives for Jesus over the centuries. Jesus is talking about all those things that make up who we are in this world. Things such as our career, our education, our salary, our status, our possessions and our relationships. Do these things get in our way when we try to follow Jesus? Do they take first place in our lives? All of these things should be subjected under the will and grace of Jesus.

But that is much easier said than done. We accumulate all these things to feel like we have some control over our lives, or that we have built a foundation we can rely on in an unstable world. It can go even further when we begin to enjoy status or privilege. We can take pride in all that we have accomplished and accumulated and that becomes where we place our faith. To have concern about how we look to the world can be a very seductive temptation.

Jesus wants us to give everything over to him. It really is hard to believe that if I let go and lose my life fully to Jesus then I can find life and have that life abundantly. The paradox really is true. To save your life you have to lose it.

The Apostle Paul understood this. He gave up everything for Jesus and look at the adventure God took him on to spread the good news. Read carefully Paul’s words to the Philippians. “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” (Phil. 3:8 NIV) Amen.