Turning the heat down
Soul Snack 137/11 ... Turning the heat down
There is a terrifying and inescapable theme to our Lord's teaching - I just don't have final control.
The control knobs of life we turn now determine the control we receive then.
Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. (Lk 17:33)
Is Jesus using hyperbole in this verse or maybe even telling a lie?
Why are we so tardy to respond?
Has the Lord spoken with an ambiguous elegance that dulls the threat?
Why can't we see a suspended and estranged stranger bleeding in death for our eternal life?
Which part of my sinfulness does not need to be taken to the foot of the cross?
What is there about His torture that says we don't need to give to Him as He has given to us?
Did Christ nail an eighth saying to ancient air - easy believism is ok, 'cos this cross is so easy?
How much of Jesus did He keep for Himself, what did He refuse to share with us or give to us?
If you give your life to Jesus now, He will return it to you - if you don't you will finally learn that you never did own it in the first place.
These words of a young father who died for the Lord at age 26 still echo daily on my soul:
There is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Jim Elliot died living for this truth.
Today's Soul Snippet:
Keeping my life - costs my life.