Biggest Loser
34And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. 36For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 38Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Mark 8:34-38
33 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. Mark 9:33-35
The scene we see described above is one that most people with siblings are familiar with. The disciples had argued about who was best among them. My brothers and I even as middle aged adults still enjoy this type of banter, although it isn’t tinged with the same kind of competitive fervor it was when we were younger. When picturing this discussion, I’m sure this wasn’t a conversation they had when they thought they were in ear-shot of Jesus. That’s obvious by the fact that they were silent when he brought it up later. Can’t you just see their embarrassed faces as they realized that he had heard the whole conversation, and the looks of realization as he taught them the truths of servant-leadership?
For some reason it makes me think of an old tv show that featured overweight people competing to lose weight for a monetary prize. We watched them sweat and fight cravings and weigh in publicly each week with the person who lost the least amount of weight being voted off the show until in the end we had a single person reap the rewards of their hard work and walk off with hundreds of thousands of dollars and often a lucrative advertising contract. By losing the most they become the winner in the end. They had put in the effort, gotten rid of bad things in their life, and become healthier and wealthier in the process.
I was commenting on my own personal revival to a dear friend and the thought occurred to me that I’m a lot like a biggest loser contestant. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I’ve learned to put more effort into my spiritual health, and as I’ve begun to see the results: a closer relationship with Christ, I am encouraged to continue, to work harder, to go deeper. As a result, I am removing the bad things from my life, and my spiritual health is improving. And guess who the winner is in all of this? God? No… Yes, he does have an extremely willing servant right now in me, but what we sometimes miss when we serve Him is that He doesn’t need us at all. He created the universe by speaking it into being, and whether or not I choose to serve Him, His power will not falter or increase due to my choices. But the even more amazing thing is that He wants us. He wants to be in relationship with us. He wants us to see Him for who He is, to understand the depth of His love for us… It’s me! I’m the winner! I am so in love my Savior that the desire to know Him more bubbles out of me. I get excited by looking at scripture and seeing our Savior and His love for me. The result of that excitement is a drive to do more for Him, to learn more, to worship more fully, to praise Him better.
To the world, I may truly look like a loser. My worldly desires have dimmed to a degree that I would have argued was impossible not very long ago. My desire for mindless entertainment is basically gone. It seems like a waste of time to stare at a screen when I could be learning. Sure, I relax some, and let my mind and body be at peace, that’s not what I’m talking about. That state is no longer my goal. I don’t spend three hours in the evening watching inane television programs anymore. Honestly, I can’t imagine how I did that every night. To some of my friends who like to drink and party, I’m a teetotaler. To some of my friends who are focused on worldly things, I am uninformed or uninterested in important issues. While many of my friends are home curled up on their couches on Sunday nights, I’m back at the church. I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to worship with fellow believers or hear God speak through a God-called preacher for anything. There’s nothing that sounds more fun to me than worshipping together with my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Make no mistake, I am not lauding myself for my behavior, I am praising God for opening my eyes to His glory. I am nobody in the grand scheme of things, but I do know that there is a joy in serving the Lord that beats any earthly pleasure that I can imagine. So, yes… to some, I’m a big loser, people who can’t imagine giving up the earthly pursuits they enjoy so much. But, I have found a pursuit that never grows old, is endlessly fulfilling, and brings me a level of happiness that nothing else could.
What are you working toward? Earthly pleasure or eternal rewards? Give Him a try, start slowly if you must, but get started. Carve out 15 minutes and focus on doing that every day for a week, spend time with the One who created the world, and then loved you enough to give everything for you. Take time to learn some, pray some, and listen some. He’s there, loving you, and waiting for you to come to Him. It will be worth it.
