Mark 8:36

In Mark 8:36 Jesus asked a profound yet simple question, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”  To me this is echoing what He just said in verse 35, that in order to save your life you have to lose it. That is, you have to lose yourself and be fully surrendered to Him in order to truly find life.

What gain is there if I possess earthly treasures and yet have not the hope of heaven? I am heartbroken knowing that there are so many in this world who are living the “good” life and yet do not know Jesus. In the end, the “good” life will fade and they will find themselves in a lonely place and without hope; without Jesus. I would rather be dirt poor in this life and know Jesus and know I am going to be with Him for all of eternity than to be rich in the eyes of this world and without Christ.

In the end, nothing will matter except what we did for Jesus. Everything will fade, and yet our relationship with Jesus will last. James 1:11 says: “For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass, its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.” I love this verse because it makes me long to live for that which will never fade away. Am I pursuing the things of this world, which will quickly fade away, or am I pursuing that which will last forever? Am I pursuing the things of me, or the things of Christ? Nothing else matters except that which I do for Jesus.

I have my dreams and my desires, except I want to not pursue my dreams and my desires, but to pursue Jesus’ dreams and desires for my life. In the end, my dreams and desires will fade away anyway, and so I want them to fade away right now because I want only to pursue Jesus’ dreams and desires for my life. I love the line from the song “Somewhere in the Middle” by Casting Crowns – “Will we trade our dreams for His, or are we caught in the middle?”I want to daily trade my dreams for His.  

I want to live pursuing Jesus’ desires for my life, which means living with a heart for the lost. I want my purpose in this life to be to know Jesus and to make Him known, because in the end nothing else will matter.

Jesus, please give me a greater burden for the lost. Please help me to be in prayer for them each and every day. Please help me to also lay aside my dreams and desires and to pursue only the things of You.

Application: Today I will again spend time praying for those I know who don’t know Jesus, as well as spend time in prayer laying down my desires so that I may live for Jesus’ desires and not my own.