Daily Word Of God
Mark 8:34-38
Jesus called the people and his disciples to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
‘What gain, then, is it for a man to win the whole world and ruin his life? And indeed what can man offer in exchange for his life? For if anyone in this adulterous and sinful generation is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’
Today's Pointers on God's Word
As you read the passage what words, phases or meanings caught your attention?
- If we know Jesus personally, then we will begin to realize that the values of the secular world are transient; money, success and power can never last beyond our life time on earth.
- Such secular values are in great contrast to the Gospel values that Jesus teaches and offers that lead us to eternal life.
- To live the Gospel values of Jesus and to “carry our cross and follow Him” is filled with pain and challenges. Yet, if we continue to follow the voice of Jesus’ Spirit in our hearts and obey it single-mindedly, even if we “lose our earthly life, we will gain eternal life.”