“Whoever finds his life will love it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matt 10:39
Sue wasn’t sure. She was considering becoming a Christian. She sensed that life was meaningless without God, and she realised that she needed to seek God’s forgiveness. She had been ignoring God, and now it was time to get right with Him.
She hesitated. What would it mean to become a Christian? “What difference will God make to my life?” she thought.
The answer is that she would lose some things, but gain a whole lot more.
What she would lose
She would cease putting other things before God. Jesus said: “Whoever finds his life will love it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matt 10:39. In context, Jesus is saying that he is to be more important than even family. We need to be prepared to “take up our cross and follow” him. To take up one’s cross was the ultimate in commitment; a willingness to lay down one’s life.
So Jesus is saying that becoming a follower of him involves a radical realignment of priorities. Of course Sue would still love her family, but God would be more important. More important also than career, ambition, relationships or money. These things are seen in a different light; they are gifts from God to enjoy, but are now under His control. We use them to serve God and to honour Him.
What she would gain
If Sue became a Christian, she would find real life. Jesus says that those willing to loose their old way of life to follow Him, will find real life. This is because real life is only found in Christ. Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Jesus is not a way to God, he doesn’t just teach about truth or tell us about how to live life. He is the way, the truth, and the life. As the old song says: “Without the way, there is no going, without the truth, there is no knowing, without the life, there is no living.”
This new life is a relationship with God through Jesus. Upon committing our self to Jesus, he sends His Spirit into us, and so enters our life. Jesus then begins to re-orient our priorities toward God. We begin to love God more and more, and find joy in obeying Him.
Life as a Christian is costly. It is the placing of God before all else – but it is infinitely rewarding. We can say that we know God. We experience His forgiveness and love. He becomes our closest companion, our best friend. Above all, we submit to Him as the ruler of our lives, and so find our meaning, our purpose. He promises us a home with Him in heaven, forever enjoying the presence of the God who has loved us.
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