Daily Devotion

Life is a Gift . . .

Mark 8:34b-36

Jesus said, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.  What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 

Don’t Waste It!

On March 23, 2006, three senior guys who had been carpooling together since they received their driver’s licenses, headed to their high school in West Central Minnesota.  Today was to be extra special.  They were joining the rest of their basketball teammates and heading to the MN State High School League Boys Basketball Tournaments.

Before they made it to their friends who were waiting at the school, a tragic car accident took place.  The Lord took Adam home to Himself at the accident scene.  He called Jon to his eternal home the next day.

A few weeks later Mike, Jon’s father, spoke to the still grieving students during a chapel assembly.  He shared about the number of lives Jon was physically able to save through his being an organ donor.  Mike confessed that one night he lay awake thinking about the person who received his son’s heart.  A glut of emotions flooded his thoughts as he considered the gift.  Who was this person?  How old was he or she?  As Mike considered all the possibilities, he grew angry . . . what if this individual was making poor choices, what if this person was an enemy of the cross, what if this person was wasting the life that was gifted to him?

As quickly as Mike’s mind flew in a thousand directions, his thoughts stopped in their tracks when he asked himself the same question about the life that Jesus had given to him through His death on the cross. 

According to my daughters’ retelling of this chapel speech, Mike looked at the teenagers gathered in that place and asked, “What are you doing with the heart and life that Jesus gifted to you?”   The question is sobering and still being processed as this group of kids wrestles with the deaths of their friends and the lives that they are still called to live.

Jesus said, “Whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

 “In other words, it is better to lose your life than to waste it.” (John Piper, Don’t Waste your Life.)

You were made by God and for God.  Don’t waste it.

Today’s Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank You for the life You have gifted me.  Thank You for the gift of a new heart that You give to each person who believes in You as Lord and Savior.  I want to lose my life for Your sake that I will save it!  Please don’t let me waste my life.  What a tragedy that would be!  Instead help me to treasure You above all else.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.