An Easy Way to Lose Yourself
Thursday, March 3rd, 2022
“What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?” ~ Lk 9:25
Today, I’m sharing what came to mind when I read the gospel.
What caught my attention is the question Jesus poses with his metaphor. He says in verses 23 and 24, “if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”
Then he poses the question that caught my attention in verse 25, “What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself.”
Have you ever noticed there are moments in life when you’re trying to hold on to it so strongly that the harder you try to control everything that’s happening, the worst it gets, the worse you feel, and the more out of control it gets?
That’s where my mind went Jesus’ question.
- How well does it serve me to have maximum control on everything that happens in my life? And to feel that everything I have is never going to go away and it’s going to be exactly the way I want it?
- How does that help me to be a steward of God’s word when I attach my identity to the things in my life, the titles that I hold, the amount of money in my checking account, and the place I live in?
- How do I profit from keeping everything in life controlled by my plans and rules?
I find that to be very stressful.
I cannot say I’ve mastered it, but I’m recognizing that the softer I hold on to the idea of life needing to be a certain way, the more that I let go of this ego based way of being, the easier life feels and the more peace I have in my heart.
This doesn’t mean I don’t take action and pursue goals in life, it just means there’s a different energy coming through as I’m doing them.
There’s a lot more freedom and gratitude for life because I’m no longer attached to all that stuff needing to work out.
I end by repeating the question, how does it serve you to hold on to this idea of what your life should be and who you’re supposed to be in it?
In peace,
~Juan
