Hating Life, part 2

In John 12, we get some good examples of the contrast between hating life and loving life.

Mary freely gives a years' wages in perfume, probably her most valuable possession, to her Savior in love, in understanding, in gratitude as she acknowledged is impending death. She hated her life, not thinking twice about holding on to such a generous sacrifice.

Judas, on the other hand, gives up on this guy he's been following, because Christ is obviously not as interested in good business practices and get-rich-quick schemes as he is. He loves his life, and because of that, he will lose it just a short time after.

The people in Jerusalem are loving their lives, cheering for what they think is an earthly king that will lead an earthly revolt and set up an earthly kingdom, giving them earthly comfort finally outside the control of Rome. A week later, they realize he's not the king they thought he was and yell, "Crucify him!"

But what does it mean for us to hate our lives? This past Sunday I challenged my church body to hate their lives in terms of obedience, service, and life plans.

Making Christ our Lord and King means following his every command. Today's church seems to be reacting against all sorts of ideas, and we seem to be forgetting that God calls us to be holy. We do not respond well to authority in today's culture. We don't like people telling us what to do, and yet, that is largely what the Christian life is about. We are called to obedience. Paul compares the life of a Christian to the life of an athlete, soldier, and farmer. All three of these people, for different reasons, can't live life however they please. There are many things they must do and not do. It is no different as a Christian. This is not at all legalism, this is part of what it means to follow Christ.

As mentioned in the last post, hating our lives means giving of our time, money, and resources. We must serve the body of Christ and we must serve our unbelieving neighbors. If all that we have belongs to God, and if he gave so generously to us through the sacrifice of his Son, what right do we have to be tight-fisted with anything we can offer? Our materialistic culture pulls us so easily, but we must be willing and ready to share, share everything, and share often. You don't need such a padded savings account, anyway. Clowney says, "Our heavenly Father knows our needs and will supply them, but building bigger barns to store surplus crops for our own easy and security is not seeking the Kingdom of God; it is worldly folly, the service of mammon." In a recession, we hear the panic around us and we're tempted to hold on to everything we've got. But instead, now is the time to share more than ever.

Finally, certain personalities have their entire lives planned out perfectly. There is nothing wrong with planning, but the people I'm talking about here will insist and argue with God until the get their own way. A certain degree to obtain that specific job with this salary, a good spouse by this age with a family started shortly thereafter, a perfect home with a two car garage, the right cars parked inside, three kids, two years between each one, two boys and a girl, a puppy and kitty cat, good pension plan, vacation home, retirement at the age of 65, tour the world before dying peacefully at home at the age of, oh, say, 85, as long as arthritis hasn't set in too badly before then. Are you willing to submit your life plans to God? He may very well see fit to fulfill your diligently made plans, but at the very least, he wants you to share them and use them for his purposes. But if he has something radically different, something that flies in the face of the American dream of stability and security, will you follow? After all, the Lord is ultimately in charge of your plan, anyway. The question is will you submit yourself to it, or rebel with bitterness?