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Friday January 15, 2016

The beginning of the year is the time to reflect, refocus, and restart. It is the season for self-improvement and it is the time to focus on becoming thinner, stronger, wealthier, and smarter. Truth be told however, if we were to accomplish all of our self-focused resolutions this year, more than likely it would not make us a better person. Chances are that accomplishing our self-focused resolutions will make us a more obnoxious version of ourselves.

Mark 8:34-37 NIV

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? – Jesus

There is a potential to misinterpret these words of Jesus as calling us to live our lives with reckless abandon. However, Jesus’ invitation is not to live an irresponsible life. Instead, it is an invitation to live a meaningful and purposeful life. This is an invitation to transform our lives from meaningless to purposeful and from valueless to full of value.

How much thinner, stronger, wealthier, or smarter we end up will not determine the value of our lives. Neither the amount of self-improvement we achieve determines its value. The value of our lives is determined by how much were willing to sacrifice and invest in order to improve the lives of people around us. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?