Jesus has to explain to his disciples the extraordinary paradox involved in making the most of our lives – of which he is to show the supreme example. He says if you want to make the most of your life, you have to give it away. You have to abandon your life to his service and the gospel – ‘whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it’ (v.35). In contrast he then says that it is possible to ‘gain the whole world, yet forfeit [our] soul’ (v.36). The actor Jim Carrey said, ‘I think everyone should get rich and famous and do everything they dreamed of so they can see that it is not the answer.’
The words ‘deny yourself’ mean saying no to yourself. The Christian life involves the challenge of daily denial. The world thinks that the way to life is to deny yourself nothing. Jesus says that the opposite is true. The way to find life is to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him.
You are called to love. You are to live for God and for other people. And as you give yourself away, God will take care of your life.
The teaching of Jesus is radical and revolutionary. It is exactly the opposite of what we would expect, yet we see how it works out in practice. Those who seek their own satisfaction end up disillusioned and dissatisfied having wasted their lives; those who follow Jesus’ teaching find life in all its fullness.
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