Dying to Live

Matthew 16:25  ‘For whoever will save his life shall lose it: and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.’

To the secular world much of the Christian experience is made up of contradictions or paradoxes that at best seem unreasonable and at the worst absurd.  For example, victory over the world, the flesh and the devil can be achieved through surrender; that is, surrender of one’s life to Jesus Christ.  Today’s verse is one which appears to be paradoxical, but for us who have experienced salvation, we understand that the new life in Christ is only available to those who are willing to die to themselves and their old way of life.  Paul testified to this when he said in Galatians 2:20 ‘I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ lives in me.’  Another seeming paradox is found in Luke 14:11 where Jesus states that ‘whoever exalts himself will be abased; and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’  Again, this is in direct conflict with worldly wisdom which proclaims that success will only come to those who lift themselves up.  In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Jesus tells Paul that ‘My strength is made perfect in weakness.’  When we acknowledge our own weaknesses and fall on the strength of an Almighty God, we allow Him to work even miracles in and through us.  Finally we have the paradox of giving to receive.   Jesus promises,  in Luke 6:38, ‘Give and it shall be given to you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.’  This concept defies worldly wisdom but has been proven countless times by Christians willing to trust in God’s faithfulness to deliver on His promise.

To many people, the inability to understand what seems to be contradictions to rational thinking may deter them from seeking the answers that can only be found within a relationship with God.  We who have proven the validity of these paradoxes have also been shown that ‘God’s thoughts and ways’ are higher than those of mankind. (Isaiah 55:8,9)

What does it mean to lose your life or “to die to self?”

Have YOU died to self?

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