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Mark 8:35 - The Beauty In Dying To Christ.

Mark 8:35 (NLT) If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

INTRODUCTION

We should be willing to lose our lives for the sake of the Good News, not because our lives are useless, but because nothing - not even life itself - can compare to what we gain when we follow Jesus. Jesus wants us to choose to follow him rather than to lead lives of sin and self-satisfaction. He wants us to stop trying to control our own destinies and to let him direct us. This makes good sense because, as the Creator, Jesus knows better than we do what real life is about. He asks for submission, not self-hatred; he asks us only to lose our self-centered determination to be in charge. [Life Application SB 2019]

COMMENTARY PEARL

The Beauty In Dying To Christ
   There's an old blues line that says, "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die." If we're not careful, we'll cherish the here and now more than the promise of eternity as we push ourselves to the center of our own little galaxies.
   Yet in the stars, we see beauty in dying. Even as stars collapse, they often emit fantastic beams of light. Consider their Maker, Jesus Christ, who willingly surrendered to the most glorious death of all. Beyond this, He chose to take our blows, to carry our shame, to bear sin's weight, and to suffer in death. And as gruesome as His last hours were, Jesus' death is still the most beautiful story of redemption this world has ever seen.
   So let us model after Jesus. Why should we be afraid to die to ourselves daily while we are still alive here on earth? This "death by choice" frees us from our own small and fading stories, allowing our days to count for something much larger and more enduring than our earthly lives alone could ever be.
   Dear God, show me the joy that comes through the death of my own small-mindedness. Expand my vision to see Your glorious resurrection more clearly. [Grace and Glory by Louie Giglio]

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

   We see beauty in dying. Even as stars collapse, they often emit fantastic beams of light. Consider their Maker, Jesus Christ, who willingly surrendered to the most glorious death of all. Beyond this, He chose to take our blows, to carry our shame, to bear sin's weight, and to suffer in death. And as gruesome as His last hours were, Jesus' death is still the most beautiful story of redemption this world has ever seen.
   So let us model after Jesus. Why should we be afraid to die to ourselves daily while we are still alive here on earth? This "death by choice" frees us from our own small and fading stories, allowing our days to count for something much larger and more enduring than our earthly lives alone could ever be. [Grace and Glory by Louie Giglio]

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY

Mark 8:35 - Full Surrender.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220815-0844.html

Mark 8:35 - The Right Way to Find Happiness.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20211210-0856.html

Mark 8:34-37 - FOLLOWING JESUS.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20211023-0935.html

Luke 9:23 - FOLLOWING JESUS.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210410-0922.html

Matthew 10:39 - Living for Jesus or for Self?
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20200202-0944.html

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

https://abible.com/links/