God frequently uses repetition in my life to grab my attention. He did it again.
Repetition #1 A few months ago, one of my teammates, Jessie Pace, sold t-shirts to friends and family to raise money for this trip. She posted a picture of the design on her blog, and I thought it looked fun, so I ordered one. Here is what it looked like:
It took me awhile to process what the shirt said.
Lose your life to find life. I immediately thought to myself, “Uh, Jessie, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m not planning on dying on this trip. Was there a warning message that I missed on WR website somewhere…? Oh, Crap.” I didn’t get it right away. I still don’t think I fully get it.
I’ve just recently begun to understand this phrase. It’s a term that is used frequently in Christian circles: “Die to yourself.” It’s easy to talk about, but what does it really mean? What does dying to ourselves actually embody?
Repetition # 2 At training camp, we talked about our expectations for our teammates, ourselves, and the trip as a whole. Here were/are a few of mine:
- I expected that I would get enough sleep on the trip that I would wake up bright and cheery every morning.
- I expected to be able to take “alone time” if I needed it.
- I expected that my team leader would always know what he/she was doing.
- I expected that I would always know what was going on logistically (i.e. I would know what country I would be in next week.)
I’ve realized that most of my expectations will not be met, which will leave me terribly frustrated. Part of dying to myself requires that I get rid of or alter my expectations to something more realistic. We were told at training to “expect only the unexpected.” This trip will force me to lose my life by getting rid of my expectations and completely allowing God to direct our paths.
Repetition #3 The sermon at my church on Sunday touched on this subject. Part of the sermon was about the ways we are a witness to others. One of the main ways is that we testify by dying. Here are two verses that were used in the sermon:
- I have been crucified with Christ
and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
- Whoever finds his life will lose it, and
whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39 (NIV)
Huh, so “lose your life to find life” is in the Bible?! I’m sure I’ve read that passage many times. But it never stuck. It was easier for me to read right past that phrase, assuming that God was telling someone else to lose their life, not me. But He’s calling me to do that. He’s calling ALL OF US to do that.
This year is going to force me to lose my life for His sake. Many of my blogs will revolve around that process and the progress that my team and I are making.
Once I have lost my life, I will be able to fully live in the abundant life that He has promised to us.
How can you lose your life to find life?
