Loss and Gain
(Mt19:23-29; Php3:7-11)
God is the Lord of eternal life.
Eternal life is in Him (Rm6:23), and
He rewards those who follow Him with eternal life (Lk18:18, 22).
Faith is believing Him and longing for Him, and
The life of this faith is continually following Him even if one loses everything.
The world does not welcome Jesus because
Eternal life is impractical and
People fear that following Him will cause them to lose their family, materials etc.
Whether it is going to war or operating companies,
It is critical to assess loss and gain before continuing - for a sound decision.
More important, then, is for the Christian to
Examine what he has lost and what he has gained, and
Decide whether to continue following or not, since
If something is lost there will be something to be gained,
If something is gained there will be something to be lost.
When Adam listened to the devil
He lost the word of God (Ge3:4-6), and
When he ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
He lost the fruit of the tree of life (Ge3:24).
After their exodus, the Israelites were delivered from their slavery under the pharaoh,
But lost the settled life in Egypt with the cucumbers, melons, leeks and onions (Nu11:5).
When they entered in the desert, they became servants of God,
But as wanderers they had to survive on manna.
And to build the sanctuary
They had to empty the treasures that they brought out from Egypt (Ex12:36).
However, when they put the ark of covenant before them
They crossed the river and won battles (Jos3:15-17, 6:12-21).
Thus when Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days (Jn2:19),
He angered the Jews who later put Him to death (Mt26:61, 27:40).
However, through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would empty His life and give life to souls for
He is the incarnate Word (Jn1:1, 4, 14) who came as the Son of Man to die (Mt20:28)
To lay down His life to take it up again (Jn10:17-18), and
To die like a kernel of wheat to gain many lives (Jn12:24).
As He died, Jesus said, "It is finished (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) Returned His life to the Father, the Lord of eternal life (Lk23:46);
2) Condemned the devil the ruler of death (He2:14; 1Jn3:8); and
3) Sprinkled His blood as the seed of life on souls (Jn1:4; He12:24; 1Pe1:23).
The Father raised Him back to life, and
Jesus ascended to heaven and sat on the throne,
Becoming the Lord of life for all those who follow Him (Ac3:15).
The Holy Spirit comes to
Those who received His name and life, and
Lets them willingly lay down for eternal life: their home, father, wife, brothers, sisters, land etc.
The true Christian constantly examines
What he has lost and what he has gained, for
When the Lord Jesus returns
He desires to be found as he who
Gained Christ and has lost all else (Php3:7-11).
O Lord,
Let us never be sad about what we have lost.
Let us never look back to what we have left.
Rather, let us clearly lose and clearly gain!
Amen.
