January 6, 2009
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Gaining the World But Losing Your Soul
Matthew 16:25-26 (NET)
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?Matthew 16:25-26 (TNIV)
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for you to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul? Or what can you give in exchange for your soul?NOTE: The Greek word here that is translated as “life” is “psuche” which is where we get the word “psyche” from. “psuche” is very often translated as “soul”. The soul is the very essence of us that is the core of all our feelings, desires, affections and aversions. The soul is that essence of ourselves that is not affected by death. It is our moral being designed for everlasting life.
One of the things I find amazing about this passage of Scripture is that Jesus is telling this to the disciples as he is preparing to go to Jerusalem to suffer. I would note that to Jews at the time of Jesus…the Messiah, was thought to be a glorious and powerful figure….not a suffering one. Here, Jesus, knowing fully that He will suffer and die soon, is preparing the disciples for what will happen.The expected Messiah from the Old Testament –>>
<<– Jesus….the suffering servant…our Messiah
THE POINT here is that if you are coming to Jesus, if you “believe”, just so you can gain something in life……..you won’t. We will never gain true life as God intended and wants to bless us with unless we “follow” Jesus…..deny ourselves….take up our cross (which means to accept the rejection of those who do not follow Christ)…and follow Him.
As a condition of our heart, if we truly want to follow Jesus, if we truly believe that God is our Father and we choose to follow Him…..apply and obey God’s wisdom to our lives…..then we will truly gain life.
We are called to be different from the world if we are to be citizens of the kingdom of God/the kingdom of Heaven……which is here….right now in our midst (Luke 17:20-21). We need to look deeply at God
‘s wisdom and apply it to our lives rather than taking our cues from worldly wisdom.Matthew 6:8 (TNIV)
Do not be like them [unbelievers], for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.It’s funny….actually interesting to me…that this all is no different than what God is telling us throughtout the Hebrew Scriptures (The Old Testament). Look at Leviticus 18:3 (this is God Himself speaking to Moses),
Leviticus 18:3-4 (TNIV)
3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4 You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God.
Jesus……..who IS God……gives us the same call to be different. When we follow Him…when we understand and apply God’s wisdom to our lives rather than worldly wisdom….we shine like a light in the darkness. If we want to save the very essence of ourselves, our innermost being, then we must lose the trappings of this worldly life (lust, greed, etc) and we must “follow” Jesus (compassion, empathy, honesty, love, etc)…..we must apply His wisdom to our daily life.As for me…..I want to gain my soul…and lose this world….I’d rather live in the kingdom of God/the kingdom of heaven.
