Hero Some Game

UV 3698/10000 “Hero Some” Game For whoever wishes to save his life ( in this world) will (eventually) lose it (through death), but whoever loses his life ( in this world) for My sake, he is the one who will save it ( from the consequences of sin and separation from God). Luke 9 v 24 Life is a zero sum game, they say, in the sense that no gain or loss is permanent. We cannot take anything out of it thanks to inexorable physical death. Jesus, the Creator coming as Redeemer, changed all that forever. He changed it into a “hero-some game”implying that we who follow Him are called to act like heroes, behave like heroes, be ready to give up our lives for His cause like a hero. We gain eternal life and the abundant life while we are here on earth, not an abundance of things but an abundance of grace. In return, we should be willing to lose all that we have gained in this world for the sake of standing up for the name of Jesus. A little later, two verses down, Jesus says that if anyone is ashamed of Him and His words, He too would be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of the Tri-une God. Jesus is emphasizing in this uni-verse that following Him implies an “all or nothing” dedication to Him, obedience to all of His word, self denial, willingness to forego pleasure, indulgence of self, an attitude of sacrifice and undergo hardship in the name of Jesus or for His sake. Jesus is teaching us that leadership is not about education, status, wealth but about dedication. Our lives should be marked by Christ-like dedication, Christ-like obedience, Christ-like service of others, Christ-like forgiveness, Christ-like determination, Christ-like sacrifice. Life is not about accumulation or self aggrandizement but surrender of one’s ego to God, surrender of one’s desires to the Lord, surrender of the entirety of our well being to the Lord. Thought it means a daily discipline of carrying the cross of Christ, it also includes potentially, the willingness to pay for one’s faith with his or her life. It does not however, mean renunciation or giving up on all worldly comforts that some religions teach. It does not mean we are to have a guilty conscience whenever we have had a good time or enjoyed some earthly pleasure that is otherwise legit. It implies that we do not set great store by our earthly ambitions, the readiness to leave this life and its comforts at short notice or sometimes even no notice. It is the perspective that Paul taught the early church, “For me to die is gain. All that I deemed as gain before I encountered Christ I now regard as mere garbage.” In short, a life that is characterised by dedication to Christ in all things we do, devotion to His word, determination to do His will, discipline to pursue on a daily basis, diligence to learn more and more is a life that is given up for Jesus, a life that honours His name, a life that is not lived in vain but for eternal gain.