How many have been willing to give up their life for someone else’s? Have you been one of them? Are you still willing to give up your life? Will you give it up so that you may have a new life? Will you trust Jesus’ teaching?
Giving our life for someone else can be easy. Often, we are willing to do so for our family members. Some are willing to give it up for complete strangers. Others prefer to hold onto their life at all cost.
Jesus makes us a promise we probably don’t fully understand. If we did, we would jump on it immediately and wholeheartedly. We value our earthly human life quite a lot. We go to all lengths to stretch it out, live as long as we possibly can. Please do not mistake me. I am not advocating giving up this physical life.
However, I am advocating for giving up our lifestyle. When we pursue being like Jesus with as much, if not more, vigor than pursuing worldly fortune, fame, notoriety, and acceptance, we gain a new life.
What kind of life is it? A life free in Jesus Christ. He stated He came to set us free. Free from the trappings of this world. Free to live the life He desires of us. Free from the worries of this world. Jesus has and will break the shackles we wear daily.
Yes, we wear shackles, even if we do not see them. We are bound by striving to climb the corporate ladder. We are bound by a desire to be popular. We are bound by seeking to be accepted. We no longer need those things when we gain our life in Jesus.
I pray we all ask Jesus to remove our shackles. I pray we are willing to give them up. I pray each one of us will gain the new life in Jesus He is so willing to provide. Trust Jesus’ teaching. Give up your life to gain a new life in Jesus. Be freed from the cares of the world. Live free in Jesus.
Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
Marty Pressey 