Matthew 10:38,39 - Whoever loses his life for my sake

10:38

Jesus would go to the cross, and we have to be prepared to go to the cross. We will never go in the way Jesus did, i.e. we will never bear the sins of the world in an atoning manner, but we are called to share in His sufferings. The Romans made their prisoners carry the cross as a mark of shame and humiliation. Sometimes we may be shamed by the world for our faith. That will not always happen, but it might, and of we are to be worthy of Christ we must bear that shame. We choose to be approved by God rather than to be approved of by the world.

10:39

Our failing to follow Jesus, or our falling away, can arise from a desire to “find our life”. In the extreme circumstances of persecution it can be a very raw decision to seemingly save our lives. There seems to be some impending major loss, so we choose to deny Christ. In more mundane circumstances it can be following a path that seems better to us. It may be not wanting to follow God’s ways in terms of sexual morality, it may be wanting to pursue a particular hobby or career path which in some way is going to be harmful to our walk with Jesus.  But if we go down any of these roads it will be detrimental to us. However, if we lose our life for Christ’s sake then in the end we will find our life. Again, if it is in extreme circumstances it may be “reward in heaven”, but here and now our conscience will be clear, and there will be a far closer walk with Christ. In the more mundane circumstances, there may be a short term loss, but in the end we find that our lives went on a much richer path.