Life

 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.
Mark 8:35 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/mrk.8.35.ESV

Who doesn't want to save their life? Who doesn't want a life of comfort and ease? But Jesus says these are not to be priorities for members of His Kingdom.

Far from just wanting an easy, pleasurable life, if we are to follow Jesus, we are to be prepared to lay our lives down. Jesus isn't necessarily saying that we must be martyred for Him, but that we need to be prepared to die for Him. This might not sound like good news, but the gospel is such good news that our very temporal lives aren't worth holding onto, for the sake of the gospel.

Dying for the gospel isn't just about being martyred. It's about dying to wrong thoughts, words and deeds, like lust, pride and greed. God doesn't ask for our all because He's over-demanding, but because He knows what's best for us.

If we want to save our lives, to do whatever we want, we will lose it. Life isn't about getting our own way. Instead, life is about glorifying God, even if it means giving up our lives for Him.

'Dear Lord, we know that You are worthy of everything. Please help us to deny ourselves and to be willing to die for you, for Your glory we pray, amen'

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