In review of Mark 8:35 it says, “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.”
Bottom Line:
Hanging on and saving your own life will not provide the true life God intended. It is in the giving of your life for his sake and for the sake of spreading his Good News, that you will truly have life.
What this means to me:
If I try to hang onto and save my life, I will end up giving up true life God intended for me. It is in the giving up of my life for his sake and for the sake sharing and spreading the Good News, that will provide me the true life to come and the knowledge of what it really means to live. God wired humans so that real happiness is not a result of status, salary, sex, or success. True happiness comes from service. God designed me to be happiest when I’m giving my life away. He does this because he wants me to become like him. Life is all about love! Mark 8:35 says, “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (LB). So for me to have a happy heart, I need to practice service and generosity every day. Matthew 20:28 illustrates that, “Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (NLT). Jesus came to serve and give. These two things can bring more happiness in my life than anything else. They define what it means to follow Jesus. If I’m not serving, if I’m not giving, then I’m not fully following Jesus. God also wired me in such a way that the more I give myself away, the more God will give to me and the more blessings and happiness I’ll have. In Philippians 2:17-18, Paul says, “Your faith makes you offer your lives as a sacrifice in serving God. If I have to offer my own blood with your sacrifice, I will be happy and full of joy with all of you. You also should be happy and full of joy with me” (NCV). My faith allows me to offer my life as a sacrifice and to serve God by serving others. Sacrifice and serving are two of the keys to lifelong happiness. I am to generously give my life away for his sake and the sake of the Gospel. Unfortunately with my most recent illness and recovery, I have not been able to really serve anyone but my wife. I am looking forward to having my next surgery, and completing the healing from that, so that I can once again serve others. Meanwhile I’ll think through what I can do to serve others from home. I know that just being back to work for a short while, I was able to serve the team that reports to me, with their mid-year reviews. It was great catching up with them and learning what I can do to help them continue to grow in their careers.
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