Trying to Find a Life

 December 9, 2024

Monday

Matthew 16:25 (NASB 2020) ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Many people are looking for a life. Some try to find it in their careers. They sacrifice everything to climb the ladder of success. If or when they reach the top, they don't find it fulfilling. It certainly isn't abundant.

Others may try to find a life in the lives of an idol. They will change their schedules and pay enormous amounts of money to sit in an audience among thousands of other fans. They will stand in long lines just to get an autograph. Not ever really getting to know their idol keeps them going. It is the fantasy of knowing their idol that becomes their lives.

Still others try to find a life in money and possessions. They want the best of everything. They want the big bank account that goes with it. In the end they realize that it isn't everlasting. They take none of it with them when they leave this world. So, they donate to charitable causes that will put their names on buildings or name funds after them. But even this is left behind.

So many people want to be famous themselves. The internet has placed this within their reach. They have YouTube channels and podcasts and fill Tik-Tok with their experiences and opinions. Others know their names but they know very few people. Being famous isn't a life.

Yet, as long as people can't see the life that Christ offers, they will hold onto lives that are not lives at all. They cannot understand how giving away their lives will actually gain them a life. They think that faith in Christ is going to boring church services, living lives of self-sacrifice and serving others. They cannot imagine that this can have more meaning than they can find in anything that they chased. They can't imagine that church services will become exciting. The Bible will become something read daily. Sacrifice won't seem like sacrifice. And serving others will become meaningful. 

In short, people can't imagine that the Holy Spirit will come to inhabit them and real, abundant meaningful life will emerge without those pursuits that promised life but never delivered. They can't imagine being changed.

The world has set a trap for people. It tells them that life is found in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. It seeks to conform Christians into this image if it loses them at some point. But this life is like driving down a road making good time with little traffic not knowing that the bridge is out ahead. The destination that is hoped for isn't the destination that will be reached. People who drive off a bridge don't realize that until it is too late.