For His Glory

There probably was not a closed mouth in the gathering that day. The disciples all undoubtedly stared slack-jawed at the Lord, trying to comprehend His words. Certainly over the previous three years they had become accustomed to being stunned by various instructions He had given. Who could forget the "turn the other cheek" doctrine? They all still struggled with that "Love your enemies" sermon. But the incongruity of these most recent words surely brought murmurs of confusion from the crowd in Caesarea Philippi that day.

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it.: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:24-25).

Saving it means losing it? Losing it means finding it? What kind of new doctrine was this? Surely the stress of His final days was wearing on Him. It did not make any sense. To the unregenerate, it still does not. To the uncommitted, it rings as an unfair demand from a tyrannical God. To the double-minded, it is simply a hollow phrase which first demands sacrifice and then promises blessing. To the sanctified, however, it stands as an open invitation to willingly lay our ambitions, our plans, and our crowns down in order to seek our sole fulfillment in doing His will. To the self-crucified, it means offering up any personal opportunities for advancement to see His kingdom advance instead. To the youth of the United Pentecostal Church, it beckons as our 2002 Sheaves for Christ theme. We are called to live "For His Glory!"

As is usually the case, such a mandate from the Lord and His Word flies in the face of nearly all of secular culture. From those quarters comes the call to each young person to pursue his or her own happiness and pleasure. We are told nearly unceasingly that we deserve all the good things life has to offer-that anything which propels one toward "success" and fulfillment is acceptable and even desirable. Words like sacrifice and surrender are mostly out of vogue and certainly not stressed as the evidence of a Christ-like character. Instead, meekness is mistaken for weakness, and sacrifice for senseless self-denial.

In the midst of that culture, the Lord invites young people to willingly follow His example and to lay down their lives for a cause bigger than themselves. Only in losing her life in the kingdom of God can a young lady truly find the abundant life promised by the Lord. When a young man attempts to reserve his life-his educational plans, his career dreams, his life partner choices, etc.-as his own, he has at that point effectively lost access to the only true source of life to be found. When one lays down his time, his talents, and his treasures at the feet of the One who said, "I am the life," he has found life by losing life. He now lives "For His Glory!"

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