The Path to Life

Discerning the worth of Christ

In recent times, I have been reading through the Gospel according to Mark, and it has been quite the experience. I have found that the Scriptures have the inherent capacity to bring us light and understanding if we come humbly, expectant, and with dependence on the Holy Spirit.

I digress. I was reading through the eighth chapter, and I got to this block of scripture:

‭‭
[34] And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

[35] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

[36] For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

[37] Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Mark‬ ‭8:34‭-‬37‬ ‭(KJV‬‬)

This text stands out for several reasons. This has been presented as a central text for the Christian life and discipleship, and rightfully so.

I want to draw our attention to those whom Jesus was addressing. Mark says, ‘the People… His disciples’. This tells me immediately that whatever it was that Jesus was intending to say, it had a primary universal application. It would concern everyone in a direct, personal manner.

He, goes further to make an audacious claim. Reading it today, with over 2,000 years of Christianity, it probably doesn’t stand out as much (though it should). However, we have to see this from the perspective of those who heard him in his day. What was this claim?

He said “whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it”.

Maybe the disciples might have understood him, but the people? This was a man that most of them knew. They knew his parents, they knew his siblings, he even grew on their streets!

Yet, He didn’t mince words. He said that the only way to save our lives is to lose it for his sake and for the gospel. Secondly, He said in no uncertain terms, that he is worth the loss of our lives. He is saying that he and the gospel are the only ‘things’ worth losing our lives for.

This is profound – and certainly countercultural. Our world presents us with numerous ‘causes’ to give ourselves to, to commit our lives to, and to lose our lives for. And there is a case to make for them, but not before Jesus.

He goes on to insist that any use of our lives that is not centered and anchored to Him and the Gospel is unprofitable, regardless of the caliber and the grandness of the results they seem to yield.

Jesus, without any ambiguity, says to his hearers: “There is only one cause, worthy of pouring out our lives for; Me and the Gospel”.

This is the work then that the Holy Spirit must do upon our hearts: He must reveal to us and in us, the glorious beauty, the honour, and the majesty of Jesus Christ, and show us the mercy, lovingkindness, and gracious goodness of God in the Gospel. If this happens, we will truly recognize that He is exactly who He says He is and He is worth our lives.

So, when Jesus says that if anyone must come after Him, he should deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him, we can better understand why. He is asking for us. All of us. Because He is worth more and intends to give us much more on that basis.

This is not just the way of discipleship. It is the way of Christ. The way of the Cross is the way of Christ. It is for all those who have found Christ and esteem Him as their treasure.

Our call to follow Jesus Christ isn’t a suggestion meant for a few who so decide. At the heart of it, the call to follow Jesus is rooted in our love and adoration for Him. It is rooted in our estimation of Him being more than the world and all it offers.

He calls us to follow Him because we have esteemed everything else as less, even our very lives. He calls us to follow Him, treasuring him as our supreme treasure worth offering our lives to, for His pleasure and glory.

I pray that as you read this, you take a moment or two to contemplate and ask the Holy Spirit to give you a vision of the glorified Christ, of Him who calls you to treasure him above all else, and that in coming to that understanding, you will offer up your life to Him.