Lost and Found
Today’s Verse:
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. ~Matthew 10:39
Have you ever left an important personal article like clothing, sunglasses, or an electronic device at a store while shopping, on public transportation, or even at church and could not find it where you thought you left it? If you have, you have most likely gone to the “lost and found” in the hopes that someone honest found it and turned it in there. “Lost and found” departments are a big relief when you find what you lost, or it can be a dumping ground for a lot of unclaimed property. This morning, we see an important principle about being lost and found for victorious Christian living.
We see the vital priority.
Jesus is giving vital training to the twelve men He has chosen as His twelve apostles. In His training, he makes an emphasis on what it means to find or lose one’s life. Many people mistakenly are trying to find their life in things that are temporal, worldly, and ultimately unsatisfying. If you are trying to find your life by indulging yourself, climbing the corporate ladder, accumulating possessions, trying to get an upper hand over someone else, incessant traveling, and being increasingly popular, Jesus says the ultimate end is that you have lost your life. On the other hand, the person who finds the greatest satisfaction in life is the one who loses or gives his life away. This is the person who is committed to living for a cause bigger than himself. This is the person who gives his life to doing something that is lasting and eternal in value.
We see the virtuous practice.
The virtuous practice is losing your life for a purpose and cause that contributes to the well-being of others, is lasting in value, and will ultimately outlive whatever you have done. The first step in losing our life is by dying to self. This is when we put to death every day what we want to do and instead make our priority what God wants us to do. It is praying and living out “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It is what Paul said, “Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” The second step is finding God’s calling for your life. It is not finding our career objective, but the calling God has for us. Florence Nightingale found this calling by innovating the nursing profession. Adoniram Judson found this calling by taking the gospel to Burma. He said, “I will not leave Burma until the cross is planted here forever.” Every Christian should find his calling in being an active soulwinner and seeking to get the gospel to as many people as he possibly can.
We see the valuable prize.
“He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” The prize is finding your satisfaction in life in the enrichment of the lives of others. Jesus gave His life so that we could be saved and got to Heaven. This is eternal in value, and is the central theme of the Christian message. When you present the gospel to sinners and see them accept Christ as Savior, this is eternal in value and has made someone much better off. No one is ever worse off in taking Jesus as his Savior! Bringing sinners to Christ is “our joy and crown” in Heaven one day. Jim Elliott said many years ago before he even knew he would be savagely killed by the people he was trying to reach with the gospel, “He is no fool, to give that which he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.”
Being lost and found is when we lose our life by living for the expansion and spread of the gospel and finding it in souls being saved, churches being started, and lives transformed by the gospel. Are you trying to find your life or are you losing your life?
Have a “lost and found” God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Deuteronomy 17-20