To Lose Yourself.

[oak]

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matt 10:39

First of all there is the highest form of losing your life to Christ and that is martyrdom. You don’t choose the time and place, you dread the thought, and I pray that cup will pass us. But within these words I find there is a call to lose yourself to Christ while being alive and I wish that on everyone in God’s time. Since I was young I was fascinated with fame and fortune; I wanted to be a star in chess, tennis, and music. I felt that was the only way to live - to be known and sought after and have money. Existence is drab, grey and there is the waiting in lines, and the filling in forms. I vowed that it would never happen to me. I would stand out and would be different from the rest of humanity.

And to a certain degree I had these things happen but they were mostly negative. I stand apart mostly because of my depression and anxiety. Yet, what I loved most in chess, tennis and music was when I lost myself and was totally immersed in the moment. Life had meaning. I didn’t really think about that at the time. Friends of mine lost their lives to drugs and I have to watch alcohol. We can lose ourselves to the most horrid of things. Then there is money you can lose yourself to it by feeling totally secure and respectable; but you may fail as a Christian because your trust is mostly in your money and not in God. “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the Kingdom of heaven.” Matt 19:23 Therefore it’s good to give your life to Christ, but be aware it might be a nominal giving. Know that the least in this world, realize they are living on a string - their fate is not in their hands. It may be poverty, persecution, disease and so forth.

So is it as simple as I once asked a priest, “the people who have a poor, bad life, go to heaven; the people who have a good life go to hell?” It’s not that simple because David wasn’t poor but Job suffered for a time, yet regained wealth. There is no doubt (in my mind) that you have to have an honest need for Christ. In this day and age, it’s getting easier and easier to want to lose oneself. It may be a good time to lose yourself totally to Christ. “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5:3 When there is something terribly missing in your heart and you need to fill it up. That’s the first step. If you have already committed yourself to Christ, it may be asking Him to keep that type of faith within your heart till you meet again.

In Christ,

Oak

PS Sorry for posting so many times but I am waiting on doctors calls.

[other one]

Are you trying to tell us that you get dangerous when you get bored???

[oak]

Are you trying to tell us that you get dangerous when you get bored???

Well out of the responses I have anticipated - I consider them gifts even when ugly - this one took me by surprise. I'm fine, though I am my own worst enemy. Thanks for the humor, if that was intended. We miss out a lot when not seeing each other's facial expressions. And thank you for your post. lol

[OneLight]

I can only say that I am blessed to not be who I grew up to be. When I understood that this meant giving up my natural self so the Holy Spirit could create me into a new person, in His likeness, I was overjoyed because I hated who I had become. I have also come to understand that He will only work with what I give Him to work with, meaning that I continue to change daily as I learn to walk closer to Christ and place more faith in Him. I look forward to the day I leave this tent and am with Christ for eternity.