11/14/2023 – Living to Please God
John 12: 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
One of the most persistent goals in human life is self-satisfaction. We expect and demand to be satisfied in every interaction with others. We will very quickly reject and warn others about an experience which is not satisfactory for us.
But the Lord Jesus Christ taught us and demonstrated for us that the purpose of God for us in this life is not self-satisfaction. Our priority must not be to make a good life for ourselves. In fact, to do so is a recipe for disaster. Our Lord Jesus teaches that anyone who loves their own life more than they love God…will waste their life.
Of course, we love our lives, but we must love God more. If your primary love is your own comfort, your appearance, you will end up wasting your life, and in the end, you will lose your life. Selfishness will kill you. Every minute you live only to please and gratify yourself is a minute lost.
Those who worship God instead of their own life in this world, will keep their life eternally. Every second you live to glorify God and serve others, transcends into eternal life, like a seed that produces life everlasting. Every minute, every hour that you sincerely pray and seek God, and serve God according to His commandments, you are investing into the most rewarding business in the universe: the kingdom of God!