I always wondered what Jesus meant when He said, “you must lose your life to find it.” Life is so precious, such a wonderful gift, so why must I “lose my life to find it”. For years I put this verse on the shelf, so to speak, and left it there until a later date to pick up and chew on, but throughout the years I have been sensing a key to be found in this statement, a key which will unlock a deeper encounter. I, to this day, do not fully know what this encounter looks like, but little by little the Spirit of Wisdom is showing me the realm which this verse is a door into. So, let’s look at Luke 9 below:
Luke 9:23-26
23 Then He said to them ALL, “If ANYONE desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. NKJV
I am beginning to see that there is a select few, those who have a burning fire in them, a unquenchable urge to Know Him more, those who just refuse to live life void of knowing Him deeper today then yesterday. We see in Luke 9:23 that Jesus “SPOKE TO THEM ALL” and then says IF, anyone DESIRE’S to COME. Jesus knew that the invitation He made to ALL to come into this new life would only be embraced by a FEW. This NEW kind of LIFE was only going to be received by those who have this NEVER-ENDING DESIRE burning in them for More. When I started dating my wife, I wanted her more and more, I could not get enough of her, I wanted to be in her presence every moment of every day. In the realm of natural manner of life, there is so much to keep humans occupied, entertained, distracted. Unless the Deep in you starts to cry out to the Deep in God, unless we, like Jesus states in the beatitudes “Hunger and thirst after Righteousness” cannot expect to be “filled”. This hunger and thirst for MORE as if we are starving, dying of thirst, is one of the select few thing that will allow us to get above the things which occupy and entertain the flesh.
It is a revelation to me to see that in the old covenant when God speaks to Israel about being a covetous and adulterous generation, He is not only taking about affairs with the opposite sex, even though I am sure that was going on, He was talking more about affairs and adulterous acts against God, for example in Numbers 13 & 14, when the 12 spies came back from spying out the promise land, 10 of them came back with a evil report saying that we cannot go up an process the land. Their response was, “even though God said we can, we saw giants in the land, which are mightier then us”. God called these statements and actions in numbers 14:33 as Infidelity (NKJV). God saw these statements and actions as committing adultery. The 10 spies had a adulterous relationship with fear, leaving faith, a adulterous relationship with the lie, and forsaking the truth, they ran off with disobedience, and left obedience standing alone, and in turn seduced and LED most of ISREAL into that same adulterous relationship. Wow, every earthly response contenting for your love and affection which replaces the heavenly realities of Gods greatness is viewed as infidelity. Giving up our life is loving our God and all that He has said with such a passion, that everything else seems of no value, turning away from the Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the eyes and the pride of life, and falling in love with our heavenly Father and Him alone, not having a adulterous relationship by allowing any thought (seed) of FEAR, UNBELIEF, LUST, HATE, BITTERNESS, ECT. enter into our hearts (Wombs). If God says we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places (Eph 1:3) , we are blessed, and receiving into our hearts (womb) any other seed to the contrary is having an affair with another. Wow, I thank God every day for the blood of Jesus and forgiveness of sins.
I find incredible the statement Jesus makes below in the beginning of Luke 17:32 “Remember Lots Wife”
Luke 17:31-34
31 “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise, the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it." NKJV
Jesus is talking about the last days, we know in Acts 2- (the Pentecost account), Pentecost was the sign of the beginning of the last days (acts 2:17), we see Jesus warning us to remember Lots Wife, I feel Jesus warns us here because as Lot and His wife were fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah (A type of lusty life) lots wife LOOKED BACK, We see the same in the account in Numbers 13 & 14, the people of Israel wanted to choose different leaders to TAKE THEM BACK TO EGUPT (Num. 14:4). It is so easy to say “This is Life”, but once we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, we need to stay faithful to our first love, we need to become, like Paul, the person the apostle Paul’s states in “Gal 2:20-21 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. NKJV. We can do this, we can be faithful!