Life

 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:39 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.10.39.ESV

Jesus's statement here seems nonsensical. Surely, if we 'find ourselves', that's a good thing. Surely, losing our lives is a bad thing.

The problem is that if we delude ourselves that we're all sorted, we'll soon realise we're not. We're all going to lose our lives, unless Christ returns first. We need to realise we're naturally lost before Jesus can find us.

Being martyred for our faith in Christ might not seem much of a victory. Denying ourselves, taking up our crosses and following Him might seem counterintuitive. Yet that is how we find eternal life in Him.

We don't have to literally die for Jesus to gain eternal life. Elsewhere in this chapter, He encourages us to flee persecution rather than to invite it. Yet we do have to be prepared to give up everything for Him who gave everything up for us.

'Sovereign Father, forbid that we should be half-hearted in our devotion to You. May we go all out for You and Your glory, in Jesus' name, amen'

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