Life entry 8

"just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." - Matthew 20:28

There is a common thread in Jesus' teaching on life in the 8 verses in the gospels to this point. You have to give it away to have life.

If your not givin' your not livin'.

Matt. 6:25 - Life is more than food...

Matt. 7:14 - few find life...

Matt 10:39 - he who loses his life will find it...

Matt 16:25 - whoever loses his life will find it...

Matt 18:8-9 - give away desires to have life

Matt 19:16 - give away money to have life

Matt 19:29 - give away family, houses, anything to have life

Matt 20:28 - give away power to have life

In each of these verses you have to give up something to have life.

Jesus led by example and gave His life, to give you life.

Life entry 7

"The first will be last and the last first."
A favorite verse of elementary teachers and losers of games like this guy. >
but was Jesus teaching us to be content losers?
that depends on what you want to win.
You see Jesus just had a conversation with a rich man who decided not to follow Christ but to hold on to his money. Jesus ended that conversation by telling the man that he will not receive eternal life. The money he held as greater value than his soul would be his prize. On judgment day, the rich man is a loser. And suffers the greatest loss possible - eternal death.

Peter was a little uneasy after hearing Jesus inform the morally good man that he would not have Life.
And he asked Jesus," HAVE WE GIVEN ENOUGH?"
Jesus replied by telling Peter that everything you give up for God on earth will be repaid 100 times in eternity.
I do not know if this is a literal teaching that for every $ you lose in the name of Jesus you will receive $100 in eternity. But rather the certainty is that anything you give up on earth, family, money, land, to follow Jesus will be incomparable to what God has prepared to give his faithful servants in eternity.

basically Jesus told them. It's not over til its over.
You are not a loser til the game is over. Then look at the score board.

Life Entry 6

"If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. and if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire." Matthew 18:8-9

I was actually going to put a picture here of an amputees arm or leg to show the image Christ speaks about, but searching for the picture creeped me out so much I didn't. Sorry to disappoint you. But think about how a amputated hand or foot or eye completely grosses you out (google image amputated hand and see what I mean). Or think about how hard it is not to notice it on someone when they have a missing finger or a crossed eye or something like that.

Jesus says that the pain, handicap, and unwanted attention that an amputated body part brings,is nothing in comparison to the pain of eternal fire.
Well yes, of course. But ask yourself. Is following Christ worth losing something for you? It could be painful or ugly or worse, will you still do it?

Jesus is pretty extreme. But so is the reality of eternal hell.

Life Entry 5

Matthew 16:25  "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

 

This is the second time in the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus teaches this paradox.  This time following the lesson Jesus adds, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? or what would a man give in exchange for his soul?" 

What a question! What are you trading your soul for?  If you are not following Jesus with your life now, why not?  how much fun is more valuable than your soul?  How much money is more valuable than your soul? 

As I watch a little bit of Olympic games I think of the years of dedication these athletes commit to for this one moment of reward that last for a lifetime.  And how all of it is determined by the slightest variant of speed or ability - hundreths of a second, a slight hesitation, a miniscule misstep.  

you are preparing for the olympics of your soul.  Have you dedicated  your life to winning the gold?  or have you traded your soul for something else?

What will it be like when you see eternity? olympic failure or gold celebration?

Life entry 4

Matthew 10:39 "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for MY SAKE will find it." (NKJV)

Willie Wonka stole the moral of his story from Jesus. People who seek there own happiness and fulfillment never find it in themselves. Real joy is found when you give love and live for others. Sound like a religious trick to get you to do things for other people? You won't really know until you try. Or you could ask Jesus; or the thousands of others (maybe millions) who have learned that giving your life for others is the greatest life to live. Or think about the people you dislike the most: they are pretty selfish people aren't they? Think about your heroes. They are people who giev above and beyond what is expected? So where are you? Are you some one's villain or hero? Are you givin or taking?

To be even more specific Jesus said that you have to give your life for His sake . What does that mean? Think about that. Giving your life away for others, but not for the sake of your own joy and fulfillment later, but for the sake of Jesus being honored by your life. And other people not praising you for your great acts of kindness; but peolple praising your God for your reflection of His mercy.

Good luck with that.

LIfe entry 3

Matthew 9:18 "While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshipped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and she will live."
Death is the great equalizer. Everybody faces death no matter how rich or poor, smart or not smart, happy or sad, all colors, nations and ages face death. When death comes all human power is rendered useless. Think of this man. He was rich but unable to buy life. He was a ruler but unable to command life. He was influential but unable to obtain life for his daughter. Everything that was valuable in his life just became worthless in one moment when his daughter died and he realized he had no power.
Faith is the great overcomer. At this point in his life the ruler had a choice. Become angry at God and shout, "Why did you do this?! Why did you take my innocent girl?! I will never forgive you!"
or He could go to God. Worship Him. And seek His help. That is what faith does. It goes to God even when things do not seem fixable and asks God to fix it.
Do you have faith enough to ask God to do the impossible for you?

Life entry 2

Matthew 7:14 " Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and there are few that find it."
What can I say about this verse? I know that I do not like it. It seems with a loving God that the gate to destruction should be narrow including only the heinous criminals who commit sins that disgust me (murderers, rapists, child molesters). And the gate to life should be wide including everyone who does not commit egregious acts of evil (the rest of us). What I have not accounted for is that God is much more particular about what sin is than I am. If only the "good" went to heaven the gate would be slammed shut, with no handle, and blocked by giant weeds. God says that there is no one righteous compared to Him. And when you get to know people more personally you find that this is true. That is why Jesus is the door. He is perfect and offered himself in place for my sinful behavior. Thank you Jesus. So why is the gate still narrow if Jesus paid for the sin already? That question is only answered by you not by God. You are the one who chooses to walk in it. Why not?