Luke 9:23-24 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”
My wife Pam and I enjoyed a couple of event surrounding the Feed the Five Thousand program in Pocatello. It was the first time we had attended these events. It is humbling to see the community get behind this wonderful service opportunity. This multi-denominational effort to join together with a single purpose is inspiring. But I have to be honest, one of the best parts of the progressive dinner was the dessert table at the progressive dinner. So many choices….
How many times have you looked at the Luke 9 passage above in you Bible studies and come to the conclusion it is a call to serve? I would hazard a guess it is many, many times. There is a warning and there is comfort in the message. Lose your life for Jesus and you will save your life is one part. That would be the comfort part of the message. The deeper part of the message is found in the “whoever would save his life will lose it.” There it is, plain as the nose on your face. Salvation by works is a dead end. Taking up the cross of Jesus to try to save your life had better be for the right reason. If there is the thought of ‘I need to do this to earn my way to heaven’, it is a foolish and dead end (literally) plan. Ephesians 2:8-9 reinforces this point. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” The beauty of the Feed the Five Thousand campaign is tempered by the sadness of why some people serve in that effort. The motivation simply has to be focused on sharing the love with others that has been poured out so richly upon us by Christ. If we believe that we have to do something more to earn our salvation, we might as well tell God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that the sacrifice on the cross was not enough for us. We, who seem to know more than God himself, think we need to earn what has already been freely given in love. So why do we need to stay engaged in community efforts of a multi-denominational nature. Brothers and Sister in Christ we are being given a blessing. We who know we are saved by grace through faith have the opportunity to witness by our actions and words to those who believe otherwise. To remain disengaged serves no one. It certainly does not fulfill the Great Commission to go out into the world to teach, preach and baptize. We take up His cross to serve Him, not us. We take up the cross knowing that if we lose our life, either literally or figuratively, we are already saved. To God, and to God alone be all the glory.
PRAYER: Lord, in You alone do we place our trust in salvation. We know we cannot earn that which has already been freely given. For that we give You thanks today and every day. Amen.
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