Feb 15: Luke 9:22-25
Key Verse: Luke 9:25
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
Devotion:
One of the things most of us meet in life is the perpetual drive to earn more money in this world; we face people who do everything they can to make as much money as possible assuming it is going to make them happier in some way. I’m not someone who has had millions to spare, or even hundreds of thousands, or tens of thousands… but I have been chasing after money in my life before!
The more we chase after money, the more we lose focus on the more important things in life and the less we are satisfied with our lives. It’s like a no-win situation as we chase after more only to be more dissatisfied with what we gain. This is the whole thing the author is eluding to here – we cannot gain satisfaction from earthly goods because the more we gain the more we want…
Jesus was trying to get the disciples to learn this from living a more wholesome life instead of earning lots and finding dissatisfaction all the way. King Solomon found this after gaining so much during his lifespan. The wisdom God gave him should have prepared him for this but he chose to chase after worldly things in the end.
If we really want to find what life is all about we should be willing to give up on everything we have to seek it out. True happiness is only going to come from knowing Christ and having Him in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
How satisfied are you when you win a prize?
How many more prizes will it take before you realise?