Jesus said to his apostles:”Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;and whoever does not take up his crossand follow after me is not worthy of me.Whoever finds his life will lose it,and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”Whoever receives you receives me,and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophetwill receive a prophet’s reward,and whoever receives a righteous manbecause he is a righteous manwill receive a righteous man’s reward.And whoever gives only a cup of cold waterto one of these little ones to drinkbecause the little one is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

This seems like such a simple sentence, but when you think about it, it is confusing. So lets break it down a bit. What does it. mean to find your life? This refers to desiring the things of the material world, the sins of the flesh and the lies of the devil…, over god. Losing your life on the other hand is about sacrfice and realizing that His way, and His truth, and His life are the only thing that matters. But whats more it is understanding that the world is fleating and that the only thing that matters is eternity With god in Heaven. But the price for this reward, is very high, and requires sacrifice. Peter Kreft sums it up nicely, saying that “the cost and the reward is everything.” So in the end it is not all that complicated. The christian life is simple. As T.S. Eliot wrote about Christianity it is: “a condition of complete simplicity, costing not less than everything.”

Oh lord, help me today to not seek to find but instead to lose everyting for your sake.