29. Find Life
Matthew 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Matthew 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Mark 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
Luke 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
A conditional promise: If you lose your life for Christ’s sake, then you will find it, or save it. This paradoxical promise seems contradictory, but when it clicks it makes sense. The “life” spoken of here is the soul, the flesh, or the self. Saving or finding the self means fixing, reforming, or improving the flesh by one’s own reason and effort. It cannot be done; you will only end up losing. You can tweak your behavior; you can read all the self-help books; you can take the 12-step courses: you cannot fundamentally change the self, fix the soul, or improve the flesh.
The only thing you can do with the flesh is crucify it, that is, die with Jesus on the cross by faith. The only thing you can do with the self is kill it, that is, die to yourself by repentance and faith. “Deny yourself and take up your cross.” This happens by remembering your baptism: drowning, dying and rising; this happens by daily repentance and faith in the Gospel; this happens by submitting to God (instead of complaining) in the midst of suffering, cross and dying; this happens when we look at the things that are not seen; this happens when we believe God works all things together for good. This means making the self nothing and making Jesus everything; God knows how to create something out of nothing. Repentance and faith means allowing God to reduce us to ashes, to humiliate the soul, to crucify the flesh and to allow the trials and sufferings of life to destroy self-will, selfish ambition and anything that exalts the self. Then by faith He replaces it with the life of God.
When there is nothing left in us (losing his life) Jesus Himself fills the inner man with everything of God (finding and saving life). One cannot humble one’s self but he must let God do it. We can only recognize what God is doing (humbling and wounding and killing, exalting and healing and resurrecting) by faith in His promise. One simple technique is to turn complaints and worries into prayers and praises. When the Holy Spirit reveals the depth of corruption and self-centeredness within we are willing to say, “Take my life.” He promises to save it.