| “…whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” |
| —Matthew 16:25 |
Have you ever encountered someone about whom it was said: “He’s a man on the way up the ladder!”? Or: “She’s a woman destined for bigger and better things, as she rises higher and higher in this company!” Both of these statements express a recognition of the kind of ambition to succeed that few individuals seem to have.
Having worked in the corporate world most of my adult life, I have observed just such men and women headed for the top. Many times, they had significant talents and abilities, had worked harder, put in longer hours, and sacrificed their personal lives to achieve ever-higher success. Sometimes they pursued advanced degrees at the same time they were making a name for themselves in the halls of their corporations or businesses. Many times, these driven individuals also sacrificed relationships and, sadly, seemed to greatly devalue the people around them. Sometimes, they even harmed other people to get one rung higher up the ladder toward achieving their goal of “success.”
Success in the Kingdom of God does not at all mimic the success, as defined by our current secular age. In the Kingdom of God, it’s not about personal achievement. Instead, in the Kingdom of God, it’s all about surrendering to God’s perfect will. Jesus spoke these words, as recorded in Matthew 16:25:
“… whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”
As Christians, we “find” our true lives, when we surrender our imperfect and faulty human wills to God’s perfect and divine will. We give up the worldly measure of success for the heavenly measure of success. Instead of striving to become leaders, we strive to become servants of Christ, devoted to the matters of His Kingdom. In fact, Scripture refers to us Christians as “bond slaves.”
I’ve written extensively in past blog posts about our role as “bond slaves.” The Apostle Paul describes the early church leaders as “… bond slaves of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” (1 Corinthians 4:1) Paul is drawing a parallel to the instructions found in Deuteronomy 15:16-17. Furthermore, as I have explained in those other blog posts, a “steward” is a slave elevated to a position of responsibility in his or her master’s kingdom. Still a slave, a steward thinks only of what would be in his or her master’s best interest.
We gain the discovery of our true lives, when we give ourselves fully, and without reserve, to Jesus. No matter what we do each day—at work or at home—our lives belong to God, through Christ, when we surrender to His perfect will and obediently do what He wishes us to do.
As we begin another day, let’s determine to ask the Holy Spirit to help us surrender ourselves daily to God’s perfect will for us. If we do, we will experience a fullness of God’s presence in our lives that can hardly be adequately described. And, the joy we will feel will certainly overwhelm us.
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, October 9, 2018
