Stay on Mission – 2nd April 2018

Discipleship 3 – ‘Ambition’
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Matthew 16:23-27
Where I live, in the UK, there isn’t a day, or even a moment that goes by where there isn’t some company or other who is trying to persuade me to buy something or do something that they are trying to sell. TV, Radio, Internet, roadside billboards are just a few of the ways that are used to present me with the encouragement to ‘buy’ what is being sold because it will be so good for me and add so much to my life and make it so much better!
It is tempting, when living in a world that offers us ‘a better life’ to see the offer of life that Jesus gives to be the same, a positive addition to my life which makes it better than it was before. ‘Receiving Jesus’ then becomes a decision to improve my life and make it better.
The words Jesus uses do not make this an option! He doesn’t talk about us inviting Him in to improve our lives, rather He says with absolute clarity ‘For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.’
Jesus doesn’t offer us the bonus of a better life that is somehow added to our life. He calls us to lay down our life and give it all to Him, not to hold on to our selfish desires and ambitions but to make Him our greatest desire and ambition.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians chapter 1:21- 23
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two”
For Paul, to die was gain and the purpose of His life here was ‘fruitful labor’ – Jesus was the desire and ambition of his whole life. He was torn between entering into eternity with Christ or to continue in this life with Christ as the object of all that he was. Such a person can be used by God to complete the mission of Jesus because Jesus is their ambition, not an ‘improved life’ but a whole new life that is received in exchange for a life that is laid down!
This week, as you reflect upon Jesus words: ‘For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.’
Please consider this question: ‘Is Jesus my ambition?’
Dennis