Hit Me With Your Best Shot

"The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." John 12:25-26 Ouch. That's the first word that came to my mind after reading this passage this afternoon. Not the playful "ouch" delivered with a half-smirk, but and "ouch" that stems from deep in my soul as the Spirit grabs my ears and makes me stare straight ahead at truth. As I look at my life, (the things I have, the things I do, how I spend my time and money, my thought life, the many comforts I surround myself with) I come to one conclusion: I LOVE MY LIFE! Now as I say that, those who are close to me know that outwardly I haven't shown that I love my life over the past 6 years as I struggle with the dark night of the soul, but the self-satisfying that goes on in my life is the tell-tale sign that I TRULY LOVE MY LIFE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. MY LIFE is where I put the majority of my time. MY COMFORT is where I place the most emphasis with my energies and finances. I have to "hate my life in this world". I don't need to walk around and live a depressed, suicidal existence, I don't believe for a minute that is what Jesus is teaching. Rather make your life, your comforts, and your needs secondary. Don't love the comforts of your life so much that you fail to give of yourself completely for the sake of eternity. Don't be afraid of rejection. Don't make excuses for not taking care of the needy when you have Dish and eat out all the time. Don't allow your "down" time or "me" time to get in the way of you serving and ministering to those who desperately need the love of a Savior. DON'T! Later in John chapter twelve, we see a group of leaders that have fallen into this trap, the trap of loving their own lives more..."Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God." (v.42-43) God, help me to hate my life on this planet. Help me to love You more. Help me to disregard the praise of men, the selfish urges, the comforts...for Your praise.