You’re Not a Loser
John 10:17,18 The Father loves me because I give my life. I give my life so that I can get it back again. No one takes my life away from me. I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life, and I have the right to get it back again. This is what the Father told me.”
No one likes losing. You don’t. I don’t. And yet when we chose to follow Jesus, part of that is, in the world’s eyes, losing. But when you make sacrifices the way Jesus did, it turns out that losing isn’t losing at all!
In the world’s economy, “losing” makes you a loser. Losing the argument, missing out on that promotion, not being as beautiful as the “beautiful people” or as successful as the “successful people”. All that, in the world’s eyes, makes you a loser.
Jesus, as He dangled in the wind, dying there on that Cross, to the rest of the world, He looked like the world’s biggest loser! But earlier on, He’d made this point:
John 10:17,18 The Father loves me because I give my life. I give my life so that I can get it back again. No one takes my life away from me. I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life, and I have the right to get it back again. This is what the Father told me.”
Now there was a Man who knew what God had called Him to, and that calling involved “losing” in the world’s economy. It involved ridicule and pain and suffering and even the loss of His life.
But was He a loser? No! Because He had the power of knowing that His Father was in control. He had the power of knowing what He was called to. He had the power of choosing sacrifice willingly rather than being defeated against His will.
And ultimately, He had the power of His Resurrection – a power that’s available to you and me, here and now, through Jesus.
When is losing, not losing? When we willingly choose to lay down our lives for others, for Jesus’ sake.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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