Mark 8:34-38
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and
take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What
good is it for a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? Or what can
a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in
this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him
when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels”
What am I living for? Who am I living for? Myself?
Acceptance? Money? Things? One word that sums each of those things up
is…temporary. Not one of those things are coming with me after I die and leave
this world. So why live for something that can only give me temporary satisfaction….
Or un-satisfaction from the inability to obtain enough of each to truly make me
happy. Now, I must admit, I don’t usually wake up, look in the mirror and think
about taking up my cross for the day. Besides the fact that I try not to look
in the mirror right after I wake up…these scary images stare back at me…I want nothing more than my life to be worth something, to mean something, to have purpose. How do I find this? Where will I find this purpose? Well, the answer pretty much slapped me in the face - whether I wanted to hear it or not. You see, in order for my life to be worth something, I have to give it up. In my case, the giving it up part is my job is Aspen, Colorado. I made more money than I ever have in my life. But that is exactly the point, I was trying to hang on to something I was going to lose anyway. If I died the day after I received my paycheck... it wasn't coming to the grave with me. After listening to the "Trading Up" Series by Andy Stanley - I realized that I have been a consumer of Jesus. I listened to His words, heard His teachings, but never truly lived with the confidence that He was in complete control. That is why the moment He spoke and said I am going to Greece, I was a bit hesitant. In that hesitation, I put aside all the things that I felt were "necessary" for my life, things that internally I was living for, things that are temporary and therefore things I would ultimately leave behind.
I no longer wanted to be a consumer, but I wanted to be a follower. To be a follower, we are called to a higher standard. I struggled with control in my life, but at that point, I had my life down. I would work numerous hours, get paid enough money to pay my mounts of student loans, tithe my usual percent, buy a few things at Target and repeat the cycle. Andy made it very clear that following Christ will cost you something. I can obey Jesus yet there may be no reward in this life. He stated that it will feel like a death, it will feel like a moral imperative for you to do this one thing that you know you are being called to do. Hello, Greece. I have never felt such a sense of urgency in my need to be there. But the moment I clicked the send button on my e-mail to my boss giving her my two weeks notice, I became a follower not just a consumer. Why? Because, this whole Greece idea was not me. The whole unknown of my future and money and security that I had hid behind for so long was gone. What did that leave me? Faith. Complete and utter falling to the ground with the faith that Jesus is the only way to lead me on this path I have accepted. I had been secure in my life. But security did not require Jesus. The unknown is Jesus' forte. When we walk into the unknown, we are acknowledging the fact that He must take over. We can no longer be secure in ourselves, but we must have confidence and faith in His guidance and path for our lives. Why not though? What do we have to lose?
Why hold on to things that I know I am going to lose anyway? Why not lose yourself for a purpose? One of my favorite songs right now is called "Walk on the Water" by Brit Nicole. The chorus says this:
"What are you waiting for?
What do you have to lose?
Your insecurity's try to hold to you.
You know you're made for more
So don't be afraid to move
Your faith is all it takes
And you can walk on the water too!"
If we are going to die anyway, why not die FOR something. No, I don't know what is on the other side of not working at The Little Nell. I don't know how things are going to work out exactly. But it is more than enough to know that I do not have to walk down this path blind, because Jesus has taken my hand and we can walk through this together. Yeah, it may be hard. But being a follower of Jesus is better than any paycheck's temporary satisfaction because I know there is hope that in the end of my road I will not be standing at the pearly gates with millions of dollars, but Jesus saying "Well done, good and faithful one."
I no longer wanted to be a consumer, but I wanted to be a follower. To be a follower, we are called to a higher standard. I struggled with control in my life, but at that point, I had my life down. I would work numerous hours, get paid enough money to pay my mounts of student loans, tithe my usual percent, buy a few things at Target and repeat the cycle. Andy made it very clear that following Christ will cost you something. I can obey Jesus yet there may be no reward in this life. He stated that it will feel like a death, it will feel like a moral imperative for you to do this one thing that you know you are being called to do. Hello, Greece. I have never felt such a sense of urgency in my need to be there. But the moment I clicked the send button on my e-mail to my boss giving her my two weeks notice, I became a follower not just a consumer. Why? Because, this whole Greece idea was not me. The whole unknown of my future and money and security that I had hid behind for so long was gone. What did that leave me? Faith. Complete and utter falling to the ground with the faith that Jesus is the only way to lead me on this path I have accepted. I had been secure in my life. But security did not require Jesus. The unknown is Jesus' forte. When we walk into the unknown, we are acknowledging the fact that He must take over. We can no longer be secure in ourselves, but we must have confidence and faith in His guidance and path for our lives. Why not though? What do we have to lose?
Why hold on to things that I know I am going to lose anyway? Why not lose yourself for a purpose? One of my favorite songs right now is called "Walk on the Water" by Brit Nicole. The chorus says this:
"What are you waiting for?
What do you have to lose?
Your insecurity's try to hold to you.
You know you're made for more
So don't be afraid to move
Your faith is all it takes
And you can walk on the water too!"
If we are going to die anyway, why not die FOR something. No, I don't know what is on the other side of not working at The Little Nell. I don't know how things are going to work out exactly. But it is more than enough to know that I do not have to walk down this path blind, because Jesus has taken my hand and we can walk through this together. Yeah, it may be hard. But being a follower of Jesus is better than any paycheck's temporary satisfaction because I know there is hope that in the end of my road I will not be standing at the pearly gates with millions of dollars, but Jesus saying "Well done, good and faithful one."
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