“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” – Matthew 10:39
This verse has spoke volumes to me within the last week. I always am drifting off to the the summarizing thought of “What would make me the most happy?” Really, think about it. Is that not the center of our sinful, human hearts? What will make me happy, what will please me today… And it seems to me that God is trying to point us from south to north by saying, “I can give you happiness. Just give up yourself. Give up your life for me.”
God doesn’t give us a simple 7-step “stress-free life” or self-help book, because He knows that we are helpless on our own, that we will drown in the pursuit of our own happiness. He knows that we need his eternal Spirit to interceed for us when we are breathless. (Romans 8:26) He knows and LOVES us. It’s truly, radically, crazily amazing. Instead, he gives us a simple truth that sets us free… we are nothing without Him. Our life is worthless. And He sends a the holy word that shows us grace and true love that is vast beyond all measures, vast even beyond our own sin.
Honestly, God is so right. My own selfish heart keeps tugging at my heart, but God is fighting in an abandonded pursuit of me, and I know that He will never stop pursuing me, as long as I live on this Earth. As I struggle with the body in the flesh, I hold on to this promise, until my heart beats its last time.
When we lose our life for Jesus… we find it. We see the unseen, we fight the good fight, and in a dark world, we shine a light of hope.
earth to mm 
How perfect that you would write this on today, the start of many resolutions. Have you ever noticed so many resolutions are self-centered though? Looking back, so many of mine were. That is why I gave up on them. More of him, less of me. More of him, less of me. I must repeat that to myself when I want a new sweater when I already have ten that will so. I must repeat that when people are negative and nasty. It is so easy to echo their attitudes. I must repeat that when I want more, more, more…more understanding, more things, more idols, more pleasures, more fun, more entertainment… I think you get the picture. Just repeat…more of him, less of me. I think you already do.
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