“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:35)

In Mark 8:35 Jesus declared that “whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” The paradox is startling. By taking precautions to preserve your life, you might end up losing it. Safety is apparently a poor value to embrace. A self-oriented perspective leads to destruction. Instead, resign yourself to Jesus and his vision just like he did to his Father. Exchange your personal ambition, goals, and dreams for an others-oriented perspective that involves something bigger than you. It’s not self-hatred but submission. In a sense, don’t even seek God’s will for your life. The universe doesn’t revolve around you. Seek rather God’s will for the world and align yourself with that. In doing so you save yourself. Nothing compares to what we gain in joining him. Serving leaders lose their determination to be in charge by choosing to submit to their Audience of One. 

KEY QUESTIONS: What precautions am I constantly taking for self-preservation? Rather than ensuring or pursuing safety, how might I risk more? How will seeking God’s will for the world differ from seeking God’s will for my life? What is to be gained by submitting to God—my Audience of One?