Mark 8:35 AMP
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 and the gospel’s will save it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God].
The Context and Focus:
The chapter from where today's verse is taken addresses a few of the many dimensions of the ministry of Jesus while he was on earth. There was the miraculous feeding of four thousand people with just seven loaves of bread, and there was the healing of a blind man who Jesus had to take out of the town before he could heal him. In the midst of all these amazing things were the Pharisees who constantly opposed Jesus. This time, they were seeking a sign from heaven as a test, but again, Jesus would not rise to the bait. He had lives to touch, people to heal and bless, and lives to save and seal for eternal life. As always, the gift of the life of Jesus is available for every one who seeks to take hold of it. We even find Peter, born and named Simon, even making that eternal confession that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. With all the noise and distraction going on around me, am I focused on the right person?
The Message:
This is where the walk with and work for God is first and foremost personal. For all the people that had an encounter with Jesus in this chapter, there were different results, based on their acceptance and perception of Him. In the same chapter, you find the disciples, walking with Jesus, and getting taught the principles of the kingdom of heaven. You find the Pharisees, stubborn as always, leading Jesus to simply ignore them and going on his way out of town. You find the crowd too, some seeking just food for their bodies and ignoring the deeper need of the soul, and you also find the friends of a blind man bringing the blind man to Jesus, knowing He had power to heal and deliver. Different people; different experiences; different conclusions. It is a personal walk that nobody can undertake for you; you cannot hide behind the crowd, because every one in that crowd also has to account for his or her own life.
The Conclusion:
That is why the words of the verse above are quite instructive for our times now. Just as Jesus spoke to the crowd then, so does He speak to all of us today: You need to make up your mind about what is truly and eternally important. This world also offers men many 'good' things, but as we now know, not all good things of this world have eternal value. There may be some benefits to the things the world gives you, but you must not let them distract you from the things that lead to eternal life. The world and all its provisions are temporal; the things God gives you lead to eternal life. It is God's desire to provide for me all that I need for life and Godliness, which means that both are important. The best use of my life will be the pursuit of the things that God approves. If I take steps just to secure the earthly, without taking care of the eternal, there will be loss at the end of the day, but if I take steps to secure the eternal, God will sort out the earthly also. I ask God for grace so my life can be the expression of the pursuit of His purpose. Nothing else counts. God's time of favour is here.
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