“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Mt16.25 NIV
Jesus strikes at the heart of our misery. It lies in our desire for autonomy, to be in charge, to run the show if you will. We hear it every day in our obsessions with 'I, my, me, and mine." The now famous line from Disney’s, Finding Nemo, “Mine, Mine, Mine!” is a fitting description. (One has to see it to fully appreciate this.)
We need to pay close attention to these words. Jesus is not telling us to lose our lives so that we might lose our lives. He is telling us to lose our life so we may find it. Our problem is not the desire for happiness but in seeking it under our own direction.
I remember offering a distressed child some assistance. She was holding something which required both hands but was holding it wrong. I asked her to give it to me so that I could show her the right way to hold it. Predictably, this daughter of Adam and Eve thought I wanted to take it from her, so she pulled away. Now, my intention was not to take it from her, but for her to give it willingly to me so that I could give it back to her.
Christ is asking us to relinquish our will to His and all the while His desire is not to take happiness from us but to help us find it.
A Christian not only transfers trust to Christ to rescue them from hell but from the very thing that takes us there and that is; I, my me, mine, mine, mine! 6/27/07 ts
Just me trying to be honest with God.
