For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.
Mark 8:35
The Cross Before It Was Hope
In this portion of Mark, Jesus is talking a lot about who is the "greatest" in the Kingdom. His disciples have been bickering and arguing about who's going to sit at Jesus's left and right when he enters his Kingdom. You see, the disciples still think that Jesus has come to earth to free them from Roman oppression and lead a revolution that brings Israel back to its golden age. That's not quite what Jesus has in mind, as he talked about earlier in Mark 8, but that's still what the disciples think.
Jesus here is talking about the "way of the cross." Instead of seeking their own greatness, Jesus is encouraging his disciples to deny themselves and take up their cross. Now, today we have a different understanding of what the cross is because we are on this side of the resurrection. We see the cross now as a symbol of hope. Back in ancient Israel, during the time of Rome's occupation of Israel, the cross was a symbol of torture. It was a symbol of death and destruction and despair, but Jesus changed the meaning of the cross as we know it today.
What Jesus is actually telling his disciples to do is deny themselves, not seek out their own greatness, but instead dedicate their lives to service of others. He says that if you want to save your life, if you want to preserve the life that you have, if you hold on to the things that you have "earned" yourself, you will lose it. If anybody gives their lives freely for the sake of Jesus and for the gospel, they will save their lives. This is not talking about necessarily our time here on earth, but it's talking about an eternal life, a life that goes on forever.
Letting Others Go First
This looks like serving our church and our community. This looks like sharing our faith when we're able to. This means serving others even though we would rather not serve others and we would rather serve our own interests. This means putting ourselves aside and letting the needs of others take precedence over our own needs.
None of this is easy, but it's exactly what Jesus modeled for us when he went to the cross and gave his life so that we might have everlasting life and life to the fullest.
Prayer
Jesus, help me and help us to see life in this light. Help us to serve others, to find ways that we can give our lives away for you, whether that's in generosity or in service. We give it all to you. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen