Made for forever.

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

- C.S. Lewis in "Mere Christianity"

"The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." John 12:25

As we read John 12 in College Fellowship this morning, verse 25 struck me with such a new intensity. It seems almost harsh to "hate" our life, but I admit with the thoughts and cares of this world that seem to easily entice and ensnare me, it seems almost necessary to completely abhor this world and its pleasures, just to remain beyond its treacherous grasp. However, there are times when words and connotations of Biblical times get lost in translation. For instance, in this case, "to hate [one's life]" is a Semitic expression with the connotation of giving one thing preference over another (see MacArthur's commentary on the subject). I remember struggling with this meaning of "hate," especially when it came to verses like Luke 14:26 : “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple."

So I was much relieved to hear that this does not mean that I need to utterly despise my family (this might even sound contradictory to the fifth commandment of honoring thy father and mother), and quite honestly, I constantly rejoice over the life that God has graciously given me and the daily blessings He bountifully supplies. Nevertheless, perhaps such austere language is necessary to understand the cost and sacrifice of what it truly means to be a disciple of Christ. Matthew 10:37-39 might provide a much clearer interpretation: "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."

That being better understood, I must ask myself:

Am I taking up my cross?

Have I allowed the world and its pleasures to cloud my vision of what happiness really is?

Have I forgotten about true joy in the Lord?

Have my possessions, goals, plans, and desires taken priority over the Lord's will for my life?

Would I be willing to give up everything - all I have - if God called me to do it? Or am I much too attached?

Am I fixed on an eternal perspective, or have I preoccupied myself with what is within my limited, human scope?

Admittedly, I find myself constantly craving more of this world - money, power, prestige - and filled with worldly ambition. But instead of asking myself how I can obtain these things, perhaps the better question would be, "What for?" Why exhaust my efforts on the finiteness of self, when I can invest in eternity by using all and giving all for the glory of God and bringing others to Him?

Thus, I was not made for here. I was made for forever. & He's coming back to take me there.