Life through death
by Neil Bergmann
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Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life (John 12:25).
Read John 12:20–36
When Jesus predicts his death, he doesn’t see it as an end but rather as a new beginning. As Christians who confess that their faith gives them the sure and certain promise of eternal life with Jesus, it seems strange that we cling so very tightly to this earthly life.
We worry so much about our earthly lives and fear so much about our earthly death. It seems very important to make the most of the little time we have here and try to make our lives as successful (by worldly standards) as possible. If we believed that we live in a world without a God and Saviour, earthly life is all there is. In such a world, we would understandably want to live as comfortably, as luxuriously and as long a life as we can afford, perhaps even when such a lifestyle denies the basic necessities to the world’s poorest.
Sometimes we justify our pursuit of worldly wealth by thinking that even if we don’t want luxuries for ourselves, we must provide our families with a good house, suburb, and school, with reliable transport, and ensure that everybody has the right gadgets. The way we spend our time and resources tells our family what we value.
Of course, we do not live in a godless world; we have a God and Saviour. Jesus gives us a very different view of what our lives are like when we choose to dwell in the kingdom of heaven. An important step to living in Jesus’ kingdom is choosing a different lifestyle from worldly wealth and pleasure. Jesus points to this better way.
We need to lose our love for this earthly life. In fact, Jesus tells us to hate a ‘me-first’ worldly lifestyle. Instead, we are asked to follow Jesus, even follow him to the cross, to see what a satisfying life really is like – a life of justice, humility and servanthood.
Lord of the meek and the humble, help us to hate a life of earthly wealth and pleasure and train our eyes on our servant God on the cross. Amen.
Neil Bergmann is currently the chair of Lutheran Earth Care, Australia and New Zealand. After retiring, he recently completed a research Master of Theology at Flinders University, Adelaide, on eco-theology. He worships at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Rochedale, Queensland.
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