8 August 2025 - whoever wishes to save his life will lose it

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

This is the sort of statement that we can process logically, which makes a lot of sense when we think about things from the big picture perspective of Jesus, and which nevertheless fails to impact or motivation or influence or actions all that much. We are able to accept this statement more as relating to future abstract contingencies than our present situation. After all, we know already that we can't keep our lives in this world forever. We know that Jesus is the one thing necessary and that seeking his Kingdom is what really matters. But the fact that we will eventually lose all of our earthly treasures isn't really impinging on our ability to enjoy them now. And our need to put Jesus first seems like something we can put off until later. It seems to pertain primarily to judgment, which seems to mean that as long as we attend to it before then we will be fine. 

What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?

What we fail to realize is that all of the things and experiences that we are collecting as earthly treasures are often at the expense of flourishing as the sort of women and men we were meant to be. We're collecting stuff while hemorrhaging life. It isn't just the status of our souls after death that should be our concern. It is the fact that we are molding ourselves to be more or less capable of enjoying heaven. Things that satisfy us in the short-term are usually quick to fade. Things that give us lasting joy are not necessarily those that have the strongest pull on us in the moment. It is in this sense that we must choose the cross over earthly crowns. But it isn't entirely bleak. We are only breaking ourselves of our addiction of that which is only apparently life and joy in favor of that which truly is.

For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory,
and then he will repay each according to his conduct.

We can become the sort of people for whom the coming of the Son of Man in glory is the greatest possible reward, one for which we are easily able to trade any lesser good. These lesser things are not, of course, the problem. God pronounced his creation good from the beginning. But they can betray us if they become a hindrance, as the fruit of the tree was for Adam and Eve. And so we let Jesus train us, teach us, and lead us in the way that will finally bring us to the place were we will experience the complete fulfillment he intends for us.

 Matt Maher - Lay It Down