Mark 8:35 35 For whoever
wants to save their life[a] will lose
it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.
I get a little scared when I read this verse
because it reminds me of all that Jesus had to go through to save us from our
sins and what the disciples went through after his resurrection to spread the
Gospel to the world. We know from history that nearly all the disciples died a
horrible, violent death by torture, crucifixion or beheading, except John. I
believe John was the only one that was spared in order to record the Revelation
of Christ and lived a long, but far from normal life into old age.
Jesus was speaking to the disciples, letting
them know that the enemies of God still hate God and will not care too much for
them either. Today, the disciples are speaking to us. Letting us know that
believing in Christ and sharing the Gospel is not going to be easy. In fact, it may be the hardest thing we ever
do and yes, even today right here at home we can still lose our jobs, our closest
relationships and even your lives--professing our belief in Christ and speaking
the Bible as the true Word of God.
On the bright side, this is what it means to
be Christian. It means renewing our minds, putting God first in all we do, exercising
self-control in our actions and speech so that we do not intentionally sin
against ourselves or others. It means
giving up worldly desires that we may have once held near to our hearts. What
or who do we love so much that we are willing to give our lives for it? Jesus
said, “You.”
To hold something that close-means we will protect
it with all we have. We are ready to
sacrifice, let go of or possibly even die for what we believe in. We are not
afraid, because just as Jesus was raised up by God, we are also raised with
Jesus in Heaven. Death cannot hold us in
this life or the next; not physically or spiritually. Just as we might give our lives or all we
have to save our loved ones; Jesus gives his life to save ours! By doing this, in God’s great mercy, Jesus
saved his own life and ours from eternal separation from God. And now, by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ
as our Savior, we have saved our own lives and will save others by giving them
the same opportunity to accept Jesus as their personal Savior!
We must not be afraid to drop our nets and
follow Him. He will lead us to everlasting life. Our world purposely makes this
so incredibly difficult because it literally changes everything. This is also what is meant by it’s easier to
get a camel through the eye of a needle than a rich man into heaven. We have
got to be willing to die daily until there is no more us and only Christ that
others see and when they do and they will, we will be able to share the Good
News of Christ with them and this gives the Holy Spirit and open door to work
in their lives and quite possibly change them like we have been changed. And most
importantly, this opens doors for Jesus to save them like we have been saved.
DeMaster 10/18/16
No comments:
Post a Comment