For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. Matthew 16:25

Question

Matthew 16:24-26
24)Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25)For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26)What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

What does this verse mean? “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” What does it mean by lose life? How much do you have to lose and what do you have to lose? Jobs, relationships, possessions or life itself?

Things in my life right now seem very unsure as to where it is going and if I made wise decisions. I gave up some things in my life to take risks else where and now I am doubting everything. I am a christian but a weak one at that and haven't felt close to God lately.

Your help would be much appreciated. Thank You very much!

Answer 1

Sounds like the Christian version of "29 virgins".

Frankly, I don't think that you're going to really resolve whatever issues you're facing by focusing on Bible verses. I think that you might do better to know that most of us go through periods - often long periods - of this kind of self-doubt. It's important that you realize that your future is not determined by choices that you made in the past, but rather by the ongoing choices that you continue to make.

I'm sure that whatever issues you're facing, you can overcome them, though it might take a LONG time, and valiant, persistent effort on your part. No-one else is going to come along and fix your life - if you really value that life, you will need to fix it yourself. I sincerely hope that you do so. Best of luck on it.

Answer 2

Hi..
Jesus was talking about this world vs. His kingdom, not of this world. The grand desception that many people believe from Satan is that this world with all of it's beauty, posessions, things - even people - are what we should be doing, working on, focusing on, loving, worshipping. Most people do it - like I said - until you find Him in His completion - in His fullness. WHat that means is that until you give up your focus on yourself and turn everything over to Him, you will not truly be close to Him. Every decessin you make habsolutely has to be dependent upon Him and His clarity about it. If you get excited about a change in your life - your job, a relationship - whatever, if it is not supported by His word, prayed about and you have received a true, peaceful answer from the Lord about it (thru His word), then it is most likely something you did on your own. If you give up yourself , or "lose yourself", then you stop ever assuming that what you think, your decisions, ideas, motivations are correct. Basically, you have to stop doing all the worldly things or anything by yourself. Don't look to other people either. It is dependency uopn Him that you need. Stop and redirect EVERYTHING toward Him. You feel you are not walking close to Him right now. It is good that you are asking. It is because the spirit has led you to question yourself - to "redirect". He promises that He will provide; He will answer the door, if you will only knock. Get off of this computer and read more of MAtthew. read John, especially. Focus your whole heart on Him, deny yourself and follow His example - always.

I gave up a career, husband who left me, riches, youth, all to follow Him - and I am happier than EVER!!! He lift you up when you bow to Him and it will always always always make you taller!!!

I hope this helps, and above all, I pray that you will grow closer to Him. It is the only thing to do. He is truly the only "Way, the Truth and the Life".
JF (by the way, this nickname stands for Jesus Freak.)

Answer 3

You may also be going through a mid-life crisis. If you don't really love your wife, come to terms with that and get it resolved. The fewer things you have to deal with the better you'll feel about yourself. Try some sort of different career. Maybe a passion rather than a money maker. Don't give up. How you feel about your self is a choice and a decision. You can choose and decide to be happy. I know it sounds sappy but attitude is 90% mental.

Answer 4

If you are so tied up with the worldly things (life) that you neglect what is true and important (God), you loose eternal life. You are not your body. That is only a shell you use here on earth. Go to CBN.com and look up the section on traditions of faith. Also, start reading the Bible. A good place to start is the Gospel of John, then go to the beginning and work your way through. Prayer will give enlightenment in this. God bless.

Answer 5

This verse is talking about how when we finally give up our old lives (the lives full of sin and bent on materialistic things) then we will be able to finally see past all that and find ourselves in Jesus. Yes life is hard, even for Christians, or should I say especially for Christians sometimes. We just have to keep trusting that He will eventually pull us through the hard times and until then we can just trust that He knows what he is doing. After all he is God. If you have any more questions or you just want to talk feel free to im me.

Answer 6

ever since the fall of Adam and Eve the spirit of greed,lust, selfishness and pride entered the world and infected all humankind and we have become used to this wrong spirit, and Jesus who came to serve and not to be served a tells us to be like this and give up our lives of self pleasure seeking that seeks to exclude our spiritual needs.
if we become a new creation in Christ we must live as such and continually deny our ego that seeks only to fulfill our animal passions, for as Jesus said you may live soley for gathering riches and have a life of sinful pleasures but what will this gain for us after our death.
it is not easy to be a faithful Christian today , there are so many distractions of the senses that are held up as icons of normality but are in the end temptations to sin, there are some borders that a follower of Christ cannot cross and if we do so we run the risk of selling our souls for candy covered sin.
so Jesus invites us to choose between what the world offers(sin) and what He offers(life)

Answer 7

Then said Jesus unto His Disciples, If any man will come after me; Let him deny himself(asceticism, but rather the denial of one's own strength and ability) and take up his cross,( the benefits of the cross, what Jesus did there) and follow me(if Christ is not followed by the means of the cross, He cannot be followed at all) For whosoever will savehis life shall lose it( someone that tries to live his life outside of Christ and the Cross; it can only be lived in Christ through the Cross) and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it(lose his life to Christ, which means to give his life to Christ, which can only be done through the cross: he then finds newness of life) (Christ refers here to gain and lose)(Nothing is more important than the soul,because it is eternal.)

Answer 8

I think it means that we are willing to give up things that are not what is best for us, although our flesh wants them, we are willing to turn from them, to please God and follow His plan..sometimes it's hard....I am seeking God's will too and right now and praying for answers and trying to let His will be done...and not mine....I know from experience when I try to do it my way, I just make a mess of things....I guess I'm a lot like the children of Israel when they were in the wilderness they could've reached the promise land a lot sooner but didn't cause God had to keep teaching them a lesson....

Answer 9

Its the diffrence between loving things in this life, and living for the next. Verse 26 clears it up.

If you are living your life for only yourself, and the pleasures of this world, then you will "lose your life", the wages of sin is death. We all die, but those of us who love God, and lay up our treasures in heaven, looking forward, not living a selfish or pleasue seeking life, we will have eternal life, death can not harm us.

Its not abo9ut giving up everything, jobs, relationships, it is about giving up the sin, the love of sin in your life, to take up Jesus' cross, to love him, so ou may live eternally with him. Its a metaphor for Salvation and Heaven.

Answer 10

I think Jesus is referring to the love of life that you must lose before you head out to God.