Aug 21 2008
whoever finds life will lose it?
Matthew 10:39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What does that mean for those of us who live in the wealthiest country in the world? Suffering for some of us is to cut out a vacation because of the economy. Maybe we have to downsize or get a 2nd or 3rd job. But what about those in the world who have to give up everything to follow Jesus? In Muslim countries if a person becomes a follower of Jesus they are disowned by their family. In the eyes of their family they are dead.
So what does it mean to lose our lives here in the US? What does it mean to take up our cross in the US? Is suffering having to drop cable TV? Is suffering having less Starbucks? Somehow I think the American church has it all wrong (me included).
What have you lost for Jesus?
11 responses so far
Philippians 3:8 came to mind immediatey… “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”
Robert Pooley’s last blog post..My Wordle
Short answer is I have lost nothing.
In terms of what the statement means I think it is like what we used to talk about in the army: the road to life and the road to death. The road to life was a thorough commitment to do whatever was necessary to finish the task. The road to death was a half hearted committment that made us think through what should have been the immediate response thus making us slow and very much a very stationary target.
I don’t see it as much as what we have given up as much as the immediate obedience to the commands of the Lord Jesus.
Tom Bryant’s last blog post..Sermon Preparation
God wants me where I am, when I am, doing what I do here. If he wanted me somewhere else, doing something else, He’d tell me. And I hasten to add, I don’t trust in my own ability to discern or hear Him, but rather in His ability to communicate.
My ministry, at present, is pretty well defined. The SS class (young, and I might add, prosperous, marrieds) … plus my “Spiritual Gifts” classes at FBC and over at CB’s church. I’ll do whatever I have to do to address those, as well as the prayer ministry and the counseling commission I’m involved in. Plus the personal ministry to several guys in my class.
What I’ve lost is control over my life. We’ve been faithful to give Him what He’s told us to give Him, which includes some stuff beyond the tithe. And the rest of it’s on the line, too, as He tells us to do something else.
Bob Cleveland’s last blog post..I Was Saving Myself For Peggy…..
Good post. Great Question.
I can’t think of anything I have lost for God. That probably means I have lost nothing.
Michael’s last blog post..Daniel 4: Who Created It?
I don’t know Kevin…
Compared to the rest of the world…probably very little…
But, in America…as a fellow minister of the gospel…I think we’ve given up plenty as we’ve tried to serve Him!
When you line up years of education, years of service, responsibilities in the job, hours worked a day/week, I’m going to say we as ministers have given up just about everything for Jesus’ sake. For what? Lower pay than most people in our church, longer hours than most people we know, and less time with our families than many other professionals…
A person on a “pulpit committee” once prayed as they were interviewing me (no joke!): “Lord, you keep him humble, we’ll keep him poor!” They did!
Okay…I’m sure I’m fair game for the comments now.
M. Steve Heartsill’s last blog post..Did I Use the Best Keywords?
Maybe we can do more.
Joe Louthan’s last blog post..What Is Christ Doing With His Bride, Part 1
Funny you mention this Kevin. We are doing a sermon series right now at my church entitled “Why.” It’s all about suffering based on Job’s life. Talk about an eye-opening message series.
To me suffering only starts when you lose a job, a loved one, your health or your freedom through no fault of your own. Other people may have a different definition. I’m pretty sure I’ve gone through periods of suffering as part of the grief process after the loss of a loved one but I’ve never gone through the protracted suffering some of our brothers and sisters in other regions have gone through.
And no, having less Starbucks isn’t suffering. Inconvenient yes, suffering, no.
I think some people make the mistake in thinking that Jesus was referring to physical/material things. I think He has much more in mind that mere material things. I love my life when I give up my will, my desires, my preferences, my wants, my “rights” to follow Him wherever and whenever He calls. It means being a servant to Him which should translate into being a servant to others. It means putting others’ desires before mine. Phil.2:3-4 comes to mind. Am I there yet? I wish. Will I continue pursuing that? Most definitely because that is what Jesus said to do.
And Steve: been there done that one too.
Bill(cycleguy)’s last blog post..All Around Champion
Kevin: I would like to comment further on this so I hope you don’t mind. I just finished reading Just Courage by Gary Haugen. He is the founder of International Justice Mission (IJM), an organization dedicated to bringing justice around the world and rescuing slaves, forced child prostitutes, etc. It is a disturbing but challenging read. Anyway, his last chapter tells the story of a young lawyer on the fast track who was challenged to work for IJM in the Philippines. I cannot reproduce the whole section so will try to capsulize it. Sean thought that following God’s call would bring him back to a “crappy” existence when it was all over. Instead, he is still with IJM. What caught my eye though was what he said was holding him back: 1) Comfort; 2) Security; 3) Control, and 4) Success. Those were 4 things he had to let go of to get the life that Jesus promised. In return he got 1) Adventure; 2) Faith; 3) Miracles: and 4) Deep knowledge of Jesus. Who among us would not want those?
There is more but it is too lengthy to write. I was blown away by the timing of reading this and your post. Sorry if I took up so much space and time in writing this but just had to share it.
Bill(cycleguy)’s last blog post..All Around Champion
I don’t know that we’re meant to seek out suffering (and doesn’t the Bible seem to suggest that if we’re living faithful lives, suffering will find us?), but I do think we’ve got it all wrong when our churches are more about blending in with the culture than about challenging believers to live lives that are different. One of the things God has convicted me about with regard to this is how much money we spend on unecessary things, both as individuals and the church. It’s not that money or stuff is bad, but when we decide that we can’t worship without an HDTV or live without the latest toys, we’re saying that’s more important than spending that money to save the life of one of the thousands of children who die from starvation every day. I can’t read Matthew 25 and think that our behavior pleases God.
Texas in Africa’s last blog post..they all look alike
Yes, KEVIN,
I think that we in America have WAAAAY too much compared to the rest of the world, and yet, we have the stupidest of notions that we are being “persecuted” when we can’t afford the “latest and greatest” gadgets, gizmoes, and “stuff” really adds nothing of value to our lives.
I’ve seen those wonderful brothers and sisters in other parts of the world that have a SUPREME JOY of the LORD in their lives–and rarely complain about anything.
Senator Gramm had it right, we have indeed become a nation of “whiners.”
And it’s truly sad.
Phil Hoover’s last blog post..Church Issue # 1: Community…