Post by Zac Loh on Sept 25, 2005 5:45:42 GMT -5
He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:25)
On one hand, this saying has the appearance of a self-destructive statement. On the other hand, it is a promise: keep it for eternal life. We are urged to hold-on to this promise. We are in this world, but not of this world. But we keep forgetting that!
This promise requires faith. We must believe. We hold-on, apprehend, and seize it... by faith!
Reality comes when we believe. False realities and false beliefs work the same way. But they are copycats and counterfeits of the principles of how the truth works. Have confidence in the Word of God!
No Neutral Zone
God is calling us to live for eternity... to live with an eternal perspective which its life span supersedes our death.
There are two forces working here: the world that pull us towards the temporal, and the truth of God's promise of eternity. These two forces work against each other. This is a love-hate situation (pun not intended!). This conflict has no neutral zone. It is hard to believe it at times, but we are making choices without realizing we made them. If we are not here, then we are there. We like to believe the easy, and the comfortable. Jesus came to set us free from the falsehood that there is such a thing as a spiritual neutral zone.
What we may have also missed - is that the world also can creep into the church, such as, the adulation of men. The `self life' is the world within us. It takes our imagination. We fantasize.
By Divine Love
The self-life is extremely deceiving. There is a fine line, almost invisible - separating the wholesome care of oneself and self-indulgence. Thank God, one principle of His truth come to our rescue.
Jesus said," `You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is the first and great commandment. "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' (Matthew 22:37-39)
These are commandments. Non-negotiable if you want to live God's best.
Firstly, we love God above ourselves. The first commandment precedes the second: it wasn't a coincidence. Secondly, God responds to our highest love for Him by pouring His love into us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Hence, we are able to love ourselves and others by His divine love. We are to live by His love!
God asked us to hate ourselves, because we love ourselves by our own human love. Human love is how the world operates. But living in the kingdom of God is living in a higher realm, a higher level. The principle of the kingdom of God is different from the world. It is different.
No Escape, No Excuse
To live the Christ-like life, there is absolutely no alternative to dying to self. And to die to self, there is no escape from hating yourself. And there is no excuse.
On one hand, this saying has the appearance of a self-destructive statement. On the other hand, it is a promise: keep it for eternal life. We are urged to hold-on to this promise. We are in this world, but not of this world. But we keep forgetting that!
This promise requires faith. We must believe. We hold-on, apprehend, and seize it... by faith!
Reality comes when we believe. False realities and false beliefs work the same way. But they are copycats and counterfeits of the principles of how the truth works. Have confidence in the Word of God!
No Neutral Zone
God is calling us to live for eternity... to live with an eternal perspective which its life span supersedes our death.
There are two forces working here: the world that pull us towards the temporal, and the truth of God's promise of eternity. These two forces work against each other. This is a love-hate situation (pun not intended!). This conflict has no neutral zone. It is hard to believe it at times, but we are making choices without realizing we made them. If we are not here, then we are there. We like to believe the easy, and the comfortable. Jesus came to set us free from the falsehood that there is such a thing as a spiritual neutral zone.
What we may have also missed - is that the world also can creep into the church, such as, the adulation of men. The `self life' is the world within us. It takes our imagination. We fantasize.
By Divine Love
The self-life is extremely deceiving. There is a fine line, almost invisible - separating the wholesome care of oneself and self-indulgence. Thank God, one principle of His truth come to our rescue.
Jesus said," `You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is the first and great commandment. "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' (Matthew 22:37-39)
These are commandments. Non-negotiable if you want to live God's best.
Firstly, we love God above ourselves. The first commandment precedes the second: it wasn't a coincidence. Secondly, God responds to our highest love for Him by pouring His love into us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Hence, we are able to love ourselves and others by His divine love. We are to live by His love!
God asked us to hate ourselves, because we love ourselves by our own human love. Human love is how the world operates. But living in the kingdom of God is living in a higher realm, a higher level. The principle of the kingdom of God is different from the world. It is different.
No Escape, No Excuse
To live the Christ-like life, there is absolutely no alternative to dying to self. And to die to self, there is no escape from hating yourself. And there is no excuse.