Core

"Core" is over used, in my opinion. But, I mean it. This is "core." One reason I know it is core is because it is the only words of Christ recorded in all four Gospels. Another reason is that it strikes at the core of who we are and what we want and need, and what Jesus came to do. If the gospel were sucked into a phrase, I believe this would be IT. Now in our context, this is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke, but Matthew's version is a little different. He says, "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it." Do you see the two different words used here, "save" and "find."  Mark and Luke only use "save" in both parts of the equation. If you compare this to Luke 15 about the lost sheep, coin, and son you will see that the word "save" is not found, but you know it is all about salvation. Another thing to know about this text (Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24) is that the word for life is psuche which pertains to our earthly existence instead of our eternal life (zoe). This is important. We have to know what kind of "life" we are giving up, and what kind of "life" we are getting.

So with that said, here is the picture. Imagine we have a great chasm to cross and there are two ropes we must use to cross it. The first rope is anchored in this life, on the earthly side of the chasm. The other rope is dangling over the center of the chasm, but is anchored on the other side, the eternal side. Now one more twist. If I choose to swing out on the first rope over the chasm I must decide whether I will grab a hold of the other rope that will swing me to the other side. If I do not let go of the first rope (we will call this the psuche rope) and grab the other rope (we will call that the zoe rope), then we are left hanging over the chasm on the psuche rope. This is not good. We are stuck over a chasm and our whole existence is at stake. But, if we grab the zoe rope and amazing thing happens. Not only do I have the power to swing over into eternity, I am instantly free from any vulnerability I have by holding on the the psuche rope.

You see we will one day have to let go of our lives (psuche), and if we don't have something else we have grabbed hold of we are in trouble. But, when I let go of my life now, I get a double benefit-eternal life and a better quality of life now. It takes a lot of trust to let go of this present life, this earthly life, this psuche life. We are wired to hold on. Jesus came to convince us that what we are really looking for, what we really want, what our deepest parts long for and need, is zoe life. It is the pearl of great price, it is the treasure in the field, it is the prize for which we strive. We want and need it so badly but the only way to "get it" is to let go of our weak and miserable present existence. If only this truth were held in sharp focus daily how our lives would change. This is what we must share with people. This will resonate with them. This will speak to their deepest desire and need. This will spark the thoughts that will lead to repentance and salvation. People must see that what they really want and need will not, cannot, be found in earthly things or by trying to protect our earthly lives. We have to let go of them to have real life, true life, eternal life, life with Jesus. This is core.