To Gain What We Cannot Lose...

Martyred missionary Jim Elliot is known for his famous line:  "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose."  Our very souls are at stake and the chips are high-- an eternity in focus.  What will pass away is not worth holding to in perspective.  Even Jesus didn't cling to His life but for the joy set before Him, endured the cross and despised the shame!  We are all called to take up our own cross or its burden that is given to us for Christ's sake--but He didn't ask us to do anything He didn't do and nothing He won't be with us in--He was honest enough to warn us of the cost of following Him and to count it.  Remember, Jim would tell you that you've got nothing to lose but infinity to gain by trusting in the Lord.  It is said that he was warned he could die going to the jungles, but he only replied," I died years ago when I accepted Christ."

It may be as simple as re-prioritizing our lives, or as involved as sacrificing or laying down our lives--we all have a mission and calling from God that is suited for us in God's perfect will.  Winston Churchill offered no easy road to victory over the Nazis and warned of "blood, toil, sweat, and tears," ahead for the UK.  Likewise, Jesus doesn't want mere lip service but wholehearted, devoted followers that are gung-ho for Job One--the Great Commission, not lukewarm hypocrites.

When Jesus is our number one priority, all else fades in respective significance and we can say goodbye to self and live solely for Him, not-self.  We can relate to Jesus and identify with His cross.  We become new creatures in Christ and have a new identity.  But somehow the problems we now face seem small because when the one giving orders is our Helper and Advocate, helping us do His will, it is no longer a burden we cannot bear.  The same God who got us to the climactic situation is the same one who will get us through it.

So what is a disciple then?  He meant we are to deny ourselves (cf. Mark 8:34), not asceticism, but who we are as a person--our identity is in Christ.  We die to self and fully relate to Christ for our identity--saying farewell to the old man and welcome o the new man created in Christ's image.  It's not a matter of denying ourselves "things" nor of having low self-esteem, but of giving Christ first place in our lives.  It's not necessarily privation, but we cheerfully take the road less traveled for the sake of the Name.  We get true humility:  not thinking less of ourselves, but of ourselves less!

Jesus went on further to elaborate that discipleship involved taking up our cross: we must be willing to follow Christ wherever He leads, even to the point of death obediently and cheerful as martyrs.  We are willing to go all the way cheerfully on our assignment from God in an act of faith, fulfilling our calling of God's purpose. God doesn't call us to suicide missions with no purpose, and don't get the impression that salvation is by martyrdom, that the more we suffer, the greater Christians we are or our reward, but we must be willing to lay down our lives in faith despising the temporary rewards of this life; our belief in God is not mere lip service but a witness to others to show them how it affects our lives.

We are to go on to "follow Him"  (cf. Mark 8:34) or be willing to go wherever He leads.  I like to say that we should be willing to go anywhere as long as it's forward; we should never stand still in our faith or tread water but progress from faith to faith!  Faith marches forward and doesn't balk or stand still!  We say that the summation of Christian ethics is to follow Christ and this is the full application of our faith--it's not just a profession but a mission to complete--some merely make a profession of faith but don't live it out with their lives and belie their testimony.

The Greek philosophical goals to know God and to know thyself apply since they go together.  We must have no delusions about reality and realize we are lost without Him.  We cannot follow Christ if we do not know Him, and we must believe in Him for who He is and realize what we are in truth as persons.

That's why broad is the way that leads to damnation because it's the easy way of least resistance, and usually a cop-out.  When we suffer for the sake of the Name, we enter into the fellowship of suffering (cf. Phil. 3:10), gaining eternal reward that we cannot forfeit.  This is the ultimate future investment--not a 401(k). We must always have the perspective that this world is passing away and everything here is fleeting, knowing the brevity of life and how short our time is to do God's will, and only what's done for Christ will last and be rewarded. 

But most people are short-sighted and don't see the music that vibrates for eternity when we do things in God's name, making a difference for Christ's kingdom.   If we only could realize the impact our lives have, we would not lose heart and our attitude would be changed, as they say in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life."   A true disciple is a fully dedicated follower of Christ who stays the course and doesn't give up and goes all the way with the Lord through thick and thin.

When the chips are down, he doesn't lose faith but grows by adversity in fortitude and grit.   All in all, we must acknowledge some who boast of great faith or even are pretenders of it, but we are not judged by our faith!  We are judged by what we did with it; namely, our works (cf. Rom 2:6; Psalm 62:12; Prov. 24:12).   ("to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you" (1 Pet. 1:4, KJV).   Soli Deo Gloria!