Gains

Last week we looked at Luke 9:23-25. In the Amplified Bible it says, “And He [Jesus] was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross daily [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake, he is the one who will save it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God]. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], and loses or forfeits himself?” 

The word “lose” is the Greek word, “apollumi”, Strongs G622. It means to destroy, put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to, ruin, kill, devote or give over to eternal misery in hell, perish, be destroyed. We can gloss over it and miss the context. What Jesus was communicating was that there is nothing in this world worth holding onto at the cost of our soul. Would you rather have 20-50 good years on earth and hell for eternity? Or is it best to lose our lives in this world (put to death the old us and put on Christ), carry our cross for our earth years and later be in heaven with Jesus for eternity? That sounds like a no brainer, yet we fight every step of the way. We should be more like the Apostle Paul and say, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain,” Philippians 1:21. Meaning, we put Christ first in everything no matter the cost.

Luke 9 is a great reminder of how short sighted we can be. Sometimes we pick momentary pleasure, gain, comfort or relief and lose sight of long term consequences. Being a Christian is not easy. It is dying daily. Nailing your opinions, thoughts, attitudes, time, whatever it may be, to the cross daily so we may exemplify Christ in every way. It is saying, “No” to self every step of the way and saying “Yes” to Jesus.

There is a purpose to all that God asks us to do. God does not ask us to surrender and take up our cross because He finds pleasure in our suffering. He does not. However, God doesn’t do things just because. He is strategic in ways we can never understand. Our role is not to seek to understand what God is doing. Because if we base our obedience off seeing someone saved or having that co-worker come to church or see that person God asked us to give a prophetic word to touched by the Lord, if we do not get a result we can measure, we will always be disappointed and think our obedience was wasted. We don’t need to know why we are doing what God has asked us to do, we don’t even need to see tangible results. We obey just because God asked us to do it. If all our obedience does is put a smile on His face, isn’t that enough? Just to know God is pleased.   

I heard the story of the man who wrote, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back”. I have not verified the authenticity of the story but I heard that he was in a village in India and the chief of the village threatened to kill his family if he did not renounce his faith in Jesus. The man refused to do so and therefore watched his children and wife killed in front of him. Now that may seem extreme. I do not believe that was an easy decision for him to make at all and it probably broke him to his core. But one thing he understood, there was nothing in this life worth holding onto more than his faith in Jesus. Because he knew he would be re-united with his family in heaven, however, renouncing Jesus would have eternal consequences. Faced with his death, he did not waiver in his belief and he too was killed. Later, the whole village came to believe in Christ as a result, but that did not bring the man or his family back. In fact, he never got to see it.

Could it be that there are some sacrifices we are making today that one day when we are gone are going to bless someone else’s life? Someone we could have never contemplated? We don’t know. I know as long as the internet exists, my blogs will probably outlive me. How cool is that? Simple obedience leaving little memoirs of God’s goodness and faithfulness for those who come after us. The Bible is full of people whose surrender blessed generations and people they never got to meet.

Surrender is not easy, but it is possible. It is not comfortable, but it is necessary. Surrender means choosing God’s will over what we want, prefer, hoped for or would choose for ourselves. We disown or deny our own lives, surrender to His ways, sacrifice our desires and embrace His cross as our own. That is the life of a Christian. Sometimes our obedience will cost us everything. God does not waste our suffering. He does not cause it, but He does not waste it either.

1 John 2:15-17 says, “Don’t set the affections of your heart on this world or in loving the things of the world. The love of the Father and the love of the world are incompatible.  For all that the world can offer us—the gratification of our flesh, the allurement of the things of the world, and the obsession with status and importance —none of these things come from the Father but from the world. This world  and its desires are in the process of passing away, but those who love to  do the will of God live forever.”

Life on earth is fleeting. I do not know how I am going to be 40 in a few years. I remember when I thought my cousin who was in his early 30’s was old. Time is going quick. Life is going quick. Sooner than we think, we will be face to face with Jesus. My hope is that my life would have been one He is proud of and that His will was done in my life as He had planned it before He knit me together in my mother’s womb. I pray the same for you.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.