Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Getting a Life

Scripture Passage that Caught My Attention Today: Mark 8:37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?

Observation: Good Question!

Application: What can I give in return for my life? Some might argue that I can live it thankfully. Perhaps. Some say “life is God’s gift to you and what you do with it is your gift to God.” Perhaps.

There’s a similar question in the Psalms (116:12) that asks, “what shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me?” The answer, at least there, is to lift the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord along with paying vows to the Lord in the presence of the people. So maybe that would be a good start.

Still, Jesus seems to imply that there is nothing that we can give in return for our life. Yet he informs his disciples that those who want to be his disciples should take up their cross and follow him. He goes on to say that they should also lose their life in order to save it.

So maybe there is something that we can give in return for our life. A life for a life. Perhaps a life given to God (as in lived for God) is very much a life from God.

Some time ago people used to say the phrase, “Get a Life!” It usually came with the connotation that the person was too caught up in his or herself and needed to take notice of the world around him or her and of the bigger problems that some people face. In Jesus, getting a life often involves giving one first—which, ironically, is exactly what Jesus did for us.

Prayer: Lord, help all of us to ‘get a life’ by being willing to share our own. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Job 22 and Mark 7-8)

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