For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?
After calling people to follow him, Jesus explained the results that would follow if they did. There are four “fors” in these promises. For whoever…For what…For what…and for whoever. It’s language that helps us see a connection to the call to discipleship. If we deny ourselves and carry out the assignments Christ has given to us, then this is what we can expect to happen. This is a surprising element of Jesus’ call. When you lose your life for Jesus, you actually save it. You find your life when you lose it — a total paradox. Life cannot be found by grasping for it, fighting for the self, or trying to get yours. So, though people trade in spouses for a newer version, bite and devour to greedily amass more for themselves, and spend hours doting on themselves, life cannot be found that way. The second you try to find your life and put yourself on the throne, you lose your life. It slips through your fingers. But the believers in Acts formed a new community and paved a new way of Jesus-living. They communed with one another. They made relationships with other believers a major priority. They gave and sacrificed for one another. They shared Jesus with their cities. They stayed committed to lives of righteousness. They obeyed Jesus’ call for their individual lives. And they found life. Too often, we forget we are comprised of more than our bodies. Our bodies are very much who we are, and what we do with them helps shape our inner person. But we are more than the outward person. We have souls. And there is no gain, according to Jesus, in gaining the whole world, yet losing our souls. To lose your soul is equivalent to wasting your life, looking back, and realizing you spent it all on the wrong things. Even gaining the whole world is not worth the forfeiture of your soul. But people neglect and devalue their souls all the time, tossing them aside for the pursuit of passions, possessions, or power. And you can get those things, but your soul is gone. You are no longer you, but an amalgam of other people’s priorities and desires. You are lost. Your soul is gone. But the person who obeys Jesus and makes life about pursuing his will for their lives finds the flourishing of their soul. Their soul flies! When you lose your life for Jesus, you actually save it. Poses quite the enigma. You find eternal life, when you lose it…for the Lord. Eternal life cannot be gained by being selfish. When you are selfish and put yourself up on that pedestal, you lose your life. We need to remember that we are more than our bodies. What we do with our bodies helps to shape our inner being…helps shape our soul. Some people neglect their souls and discard them for the pursuit of selfishness. So if you read the verse, it states that if you gain the world, you lose your soul. What that’s saying is the equivalent to wasting your life. Is it worth it to lose your soul over property or possessions? For power? I tell you now, it’s not worth your soul! Without your soul, you are lost. With Jesus, you are found and your soul will fly higher than you could ever imagine.
Spiritual Steve 