What matters most to you? There are easy answers like family. The way we determine what matters the most is by what we spend our money on and how we spend our time. That may tell a completely different story. Jesus wants us to live a life worth keeping. For that to happen, we need to love what’s important to Him.
John 12:25
“The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
Choose Your Way
There were several times in Jesus’ ministry that He made His followers choose. There was no middle ground. Either you followed Him and agreed to everything that went along with that, or you chose the way of the world. In this verse, Jesus tells us why He does that. If you try to preserve the life you have while following Jesus, you will eventually lose it. If you forsake your life and wholeheartedly follow Jesus, you will get more than you can comprehend.
The Wrong Path
The one who loves his life is the person who chases after every pleasure and ambition. They live their lives with gusto trying to suck the marrow out of every experience. “You only live once” is their rallying cry and spending your way into a certain lifestyle is expected. While you may be able to maintain this for a while, eventually it will come crashing down. The money will dry up, the friends will disappear, and all that will be left will be a mountain of bills and despair.
A Life Worth Keeping
The person who hates his life here on earth is the one who sees everything as temporal except for their relationship with Jesus Christ. They live for the eternal and deny themselves of those things which will take them away from the presence of Christ. At the moment, it may seem that they are going without, but in the end, they are storing up treasures where it matters most. Live as one who knows their home isn’t here on earth but is coming one day when Christ returns.