Sunday, September 6, 2009

The Losers Win? Yes We Do.

In Luke 17:33 (MSG) Jesus said, If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you’ll lose it, but if you let that life go, you’ll get life on God’s terms.

Galatians 2:20 (MSG) helps us to know more clearly what it means "to lose our lives":
Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.

And in Philippians 3:7-11 (NLT) the Apostle Paul applied the lose-your-life words of Jesus to his own life with these words: (7) But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. (8) Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (9) and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; (10) that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, (11) if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.


So is it correct to say that "The Losers Win" in the Kingdom of God? Yes, in fact losing is a core value of Christlike winners. Think about it. On Crucifixion Friday Jesus looked like the #1 Loser of all losers, but on Resurrection Sunday He proved to be the #1 Winner of all winners! Indeed, Jesus turned His loss on Friday's Cross into our gain outside Sunday's Tomb. Let's exhale. The Losers Win? Yes, We Do!

ALL JOY!
Grateful

2 comments:

Martin LaBar said...

True.

And, in a possibly related thought, someone (I wish I knew who) said that Christianity works best when its followers are in the minority, unlike, say, Islam, which is designed as a majority religion.

i am Grateful... Kerry i am. said...

Elijah sure learned that our God is a turn-the-minority-into-the-majority God on Mt. Carmel when Elijah "alone" won out against 400 false "Baal" prohpets. Elijah + God = Majority. ALL JOY!