Matthew 10:39 “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

In any language this famous saying of Jesus violates our normal thinking, but I find the Japanese particularly illuminating here. In literal translation into English, it reads: “He who considers his life his own will lose it; he who loses his life for My sake will make it his own.” Confused yet? The point is, everything we have, even includ­ing our lives, we have received from God. If we try to hang onto our lives and everything they include, saying “MINE,” we will lose it all. However, if we fully acknowledge the Lordship of Christ, holding all things loosely because they belong to Him, then we will walk in eternal life that will never be taken away from us. Few people reading this will be confronted with physical martyrdom, but we all face the loss of things we consider to be part of our lives. Some people lose physical abilities through disease or accident. If they focus on what they have lost and become bitter, they will lose the peace and joy that God intends for them. If they focus on God instead, they will find that His grace is indeed sufficient for them, (2 Corinthians 12:9) and will be channels of blessing to all those around them. Some people lose physical possessions through fire, theft, or natural disaster. If they mourn those things, which are not alive, excessively, they will fail to appreciate the people in their lives. (Luke 12:15) All of us lose people close to us through death. Mourning is natural and important, but here again, if we get stuck in the mourning, we fail to move on to the life that is on the other side of it. All of this boils down to seeking God first and foremost, recognizing that He is the source of everything good, and trusting Him with it all.

As a pastor I often need to counsel and comfort those experiencing loss of various sorts, and frankly, many of them don’t want to hear this message. However, that doesn’t make it any less true. Looking back over my own 64 years to this point, I have experienced loss of each of the kinds I’ve mentioned, but it doesn’t feel like I’ve lost much of anything. At the time, some of those losses were quite painful, but with every one, God has shown Himself to be all I need. I have said for many years that of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, James had the easier life, because he was able to give it all at once, whereas John lived longest of all the original 12 apostles, and is the only one said to have died a natural death, giving his life in many ways, including exile on the island of Patmos. I am not to try to dictate how my life will be given, but rather hold it loosely, in every facet of it, so that God may make the use of it that He desires, for His glory.

Father, You know even better than I do that my biggest hangup in this area is time, that I tend to be jealous of my time. Thank You for the growth I have experienced in this area. Help me indeed release everything to You, down to each second, so that Your purposes may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!