Losing self!
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” – Luke 9:24-25
There is this twisted idea in the mind of the legalist that losing their life for God means a rigid obedience to the law that they are no longer under because of the sacrifice of Christ! This is the person who believes that following God is a long list of boxes that must be checked and what God really wants is for them to be in a building every Sunday, dressed for success with money to put in the offering plate due to being “blessed” financially.
If that is the God you serve – you are in a religion NOT a spiritual walk with The Lord Jesus Christ!
Gaining the whole world means gaining material comfort, the respect and admiration of your fellow man and a level of comfort that causes you to never see the destitute nature of your very own soul without Christ!
When I write and speak about Christ Alone theology that is EXACTLY what it means – Christ Alone reconciles me to God, justifies me before God and makes me a new creation!
The search for self is a road of complete honesty and transparency that equates to non-self-hatred. Jesus on earth was The Master of non-self-hatred! He realized, understood and taught where true forgiveness, peace and holiness originated from – The Grace of God!
Self-hatred is the hallmark of a legalistic life and yet self-acceptance is the inevitable fruit of God’s Grace!
Care to read more and understand this subject better? Check out the book:
“A Glimpse of Jesus: The stranger to self-hatred” Brennan Manning
If doing more could make you more right with God – Jesus didn’t complete His mission and the cross has much less significance!