December 27, 2017 FINDING BY LOSING
Luke 17:33 “Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall preserve it.”
This verse, in just a few words exposes the great difference in the philosophy of the world and the truth of the gospel. This verse is a tell-tell sign as to whether one knows God or not, and also whether a believer is walking according to the flesh, or according to the Spirit. The very nature, the core of man, is that of finding and keeping his life. The culture in which we live elevates to the highest level the right of man to do whatever pleases him-whatever is right in his own eyes. However, Proverbs 14:12 tells us: “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” The words that Jesus spoke were counter-culture in His day just as they are in our day; what Jesus spoke was considered radical and often contradicted what many considered to be common sense. (For example, Jesus said that it was more blessed to give than to receive-most would think that it is better to receive.) This one verse perfectly summarizes and exposes the difference in the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world, and it is a truth that every person must contend with. We must first realize that the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world are two separate kingdoms and that the two cannot be blended or co-exist. We also must realize that a believer can choose to not walk or live according to the Spirit and can revert back to the thinking of the world-but not without cost. This passage of scripture is all about trust. Any given person is either pursuing their own life according to their own dictates, or they are building their life on the basis of the word of God. If honest, many would confess that pursuing the self-life is a life that proves to be empty and unfulfilling. A fulfilled, meaningful life begins when we understand that God is our creator and that because He is our creator, He knows exactly what we need in order to experience abundant life. This is where the sinful nature of man stands in direct opposition to life in the kingdom of God. Man, apart from God, believes with all of his being that he knows what it takes to be happy or what is best for him, and that is the pursuit of his life-but like the rabbit chasing the carrot, he never catches it. The great divide is whether one trust in himself or in what God has said. The life that we are to lose is the old man-the person we were before our conversion to faith in Christ. The believer is made new-given new life, and this new life satisfies our innermost being. We thought we had life before our conversion, but once we are made new, we realize that our old, or former life, does not compare to our new life; the old life is well worth the losing. But beware! The believer can revert back to living according to self, or the flesh. The scriptures admonish us to put off the old man and put on the new man and to walk according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh. This ‘putting on the new man’ is something we do as a way of life-choosing to walk in the ways of God. As we walk in the ways of God, we discover our true identity, and we find our real self-the self that God made. God made each of us unique and only in Him can we find the person that God made us to be. “For in Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28. Let us not walk in who we use to be-let us loose our old life. Only when we walk in His ways will we find our life. It’s a fact-we find it by losing it!
Ephesians 4:22-24: “that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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