Don’t Miss Out

“He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39

In the Bible, a rich young ruler encountered Jesus. He was just living his life until Jesus showed up. Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me. But before you do, go sell everything you have and give it to the poor.” Have you ever read that scripture and thought, “Lord, couldn’t you have taken it a little bit easier on him?” He was rich, young, and powerful. He had everything that the world wants. And Jesus told him to give it all up because He knew that whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever lays his life down for his cause would find it.” 

At first glance, it seemed like a lot to ask of this young man, until you consider what he missed out on. Consider what Jesus may have planned for him. The young man could have been in the box seat section when Jesus preached. He gave that up. He could have dined around the bonfire on the fish that Jesus caught. He could have witnessed blind men seeing and paralyzed men leaping. He could have even witnessed a man raised from the dead! His name could have been one of the names written in the foundations of Heaven. He could have been in Jesus Christ’s inner circle. But instead, he said, “I want to do what I want to do.” 

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” God knows your heart better than you do. Jesus knew what a glorious life that young ruler would have lived- experiencing firsthand the miracles and majesty of God’s Son on earth. What a privilege that would have been. He was seeing the dove descending on Jesus in the river and the light of God’s glory in the transfiguration. The young ruler would have seen death itself defeated and Jesus ascending into the clouds. And he missed out on it because he was unwilling to deny his own desires. If only he had known that a way better life awaited him.

The cross is a plus sign, not a minus sign. When you give your life to Jesus, you gain everything. You gain life abundantly and life eternal. You gain peace, hope, and joy unspeakable. You will never regret giving Jesus your life. You will only regret not doing it.

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