Aug 7 2019 Mark 8:34 – 9:1

For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?
This is Jesus’ speech about those losing their life for his sake, and taking up their cross. In a big theoretical level, I understand the idea that we are to forgo what this world claims is the aim, purpose and prize. We are to skip fame, and glory, and money, and power. Instead, we are love God, and love our neighbor. And most often, that path steers us away from this world’s values.

Jesus seems to be saying we won’t have eternal life if we pursue these worldly values, if we gain the whole world. Again, in a big cosmic sense, I understand this. My challenge with this is to make it relevant today, not in some heretofore afterlife. My challenge is that I don’t think Jesus is solely talking about what happens after we die. We are not to forgo every earthly pleasure or right simply for the promise of life everlasting. If that were the case, the oppressive religious leaders of Latin America would have been right in their argument that the poor should endure, because their reward is in heaven.

But I believe we’re to love God and love our neighbor because in it, we get a sense of eternal life now. We get a sense that we are fully alive and fully living when we love and serve God and our neighbor.

So what does it mean to gain the world but lose their life, in this current time? I’m reminded of people I’ve known who’ve had values and priorities that seem counter to Jesus’ call to love. They seem to be out for number one – themselves. As I think about these people, they all have a sadness or anger about them. It’s as if every time they don’t win, don’t come out on top, they see it as failure. Everything they do is all or nothing, winner take all. Or it seems that once they achieve that prize – the bigger office, the bigger job – they are faced with the reality that it hasn’t actually made them happier.

These folks are not only not loving God and loving neighbor, they are never content with what is. Maybe it’s contentment that is the key to losing one’s life now, or more appropriately, discontentment. How miserable it would be to never be content? To always be striving for that worldly gain that in the end is meaningless or doesn’t live up to the promises of happiness and fulfilment? When we follow the promises of this life, we spend our time pursuing the impossible, only to achieve discontent. 

This morning, I’m thinking about achieving eternal life in this world, and not waiting until I’m dead. I’m thinking about how I need to live to be fully alive. Today, I want to be fully content. Eternally alive.