Luke 9:23-27 – Living for Christ

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” What a paradoxical statement! How can one gain life by losing it? In today’s Christian culture, this statement just doesn’t resonate. Our generation is one that’s extremely fascinated with the self. The common mentality is this: if one feels good doing something, it must be right. Everyone interprets and acts as he deems fit. Our time is dominated by a self-focus mindset. For many, Christianity exists to enhance lives, marriages, bank accounts, prestige. To bear a cross and pay a price for standing for Christ is furthest away from one’s mind. Yet for a Christian, life's most worthy pursuit is a cross-bearing, Christ-centred living.

What is a cross-bearing, Christ-centred living? Luke 9:23 tells us it's a life where self is denied, one's personal cross is carried daily, and Christ is pursued actively. We must not mistake a self-denying, cross-bearing life to mean putting up with a demanding boss, a difficult colleague, a hostile and offensive mother-in-law, or a personal struggle or a sickness. To live a cross-bearing, Christ-honouring life is to voluntarily abdicate the throne of one's life. It's a life that radically renounces self-centeredness. We adopt such a life because we know that our crucified Saviour can only be well served when we are not self-pleasing, or self-indulging.

So here in Luke 9:23-27, we see a presentation of two attitudes in living life. Firstly, adopt a "What's in it for me?" mentality. This is a "Go for it, cling to it, grasp at it, and hoard it" mentality. Or secondly, adopt a "How to please God in this?" attitude. That is to live a life of dependence on God. Christ shows us that it is sheer foolishness to own everything materially in life, only to find that we have no life to enjoy it. For something got to give - the goods or your life.

Everyone who is ashamed to be known as His, He will also be ashamed of him or her when He comes in His father’s glory with the holy angels. This is a promise to us that if we unashamedly acknowledge Him, He will also acknowledge us before the Father at His return in glory. Verse 27 poses a little difficulty. All who walked with Him while He was alive on earth had died. None of them exists physically right now. How then can Christ say that there would be those that would not taste death till they see the Kingdom of God? In talking about the coming of the Kingdom of God, Christ was very likely referring to His own transfiguration, which we will see in the next passage. 

Having said all, we can choose to stand with Jesus now and be rewarded ultimately. Or we can run with the crowd now and face the shame eventually. What is our aim in life? What do we really want of our life? These are the questions Jesus would ask us. Being a Christian may be difficult. It is radical. But it is the only way to life everlasting.