Loose Your Life to Save it.

[Hopefully]

“Jesus continued to say to all of them, “Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you every day for following me. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will save it. It is worth nothing for you to have the whole world if you yourself are destroyed or lost.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:23-25‬ ‭
 

“We must prefer the salvation and happiness of our souls before any secular concern whatsoever. Reckon upon it, (1.) That he who to preserve his liberty or estate, his power or preferment, nay, or to save his life, denies Christ and his truths, wilfully wrongs his conscience, and sins against God, will be, not only not a saver, but an unspeakable loser, in the issue, when profitand loss come to be balanced: He that will save his life upon these terms will lose it, will lose that which is of infinitely more value, his precious soul.

(2.) We must firmly believe also that, if we lose our life for cleaving to Christ and our religion, we shall save it to our unspeakable advantage; for we shall be abundantly recompensed in the resurrection of the just, when we shall have it again a new and an eternal life.”

“Those who have a saving interest in Christ must be willing to part with all for Him, leave all to follow Him. Whatever stands in opposition to Christ, or in completion with Him for our love and service, we must cheerfully quit it, though ever so dear to us.”

“Many mourn for their sins that do not truly repent of them, weep bitterly for them, and yet continue in love and league with them.”

“Practically, this may mean giving up good things—like discretionary income or time watching TV—for the sake of helping others in need. It could mean forgoing the security that comes from living in a “good” part of town in order to have a gospel presence in a dangerous neighborhood. It could mean leaving the comfort of our home town, state, or country to share the good news of Jesus with those who haven’t heard. In these situations, self-denial is motivated by a supreme love for God and others, the very heartbeat of what it means to be a Christian (Mk. 12:28-34).

If that’s not hard enough, Jesus goes a step further. Not only must Christians be willing to lose earthly comforts, but we are to pick up our crosses “daily and follow [him]” (Lk. 9:23). That is to say, we must regularly embrace the suffering and loss that may come on account of following Jesus. Submitting to Jesus’ lordship over every sphere of our lives might mean that we lose relationships, social status, career advancement, or certain freedoms. Sustaining the seemingly-impossible commitment to sacrifice comfort and bear a cross takes a supernatural strength.

Thankfully, we serve a God who works in supernatural ways to make the impossible possible. “

 

 

[Raven]

God is Everything, the Greater Reality.

One has to be willing to give up everything for Everything.

[Selah7]

12 minutes ago, Raven said:

God is Everything, the Greater Reality.

One has to be willing to give up everything for Everything.