35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul?
Mark 8:35-37 ESV
This passage and the parallel passages in Matthew 16 and Luke 9 are some of the most amazing words recorded in the Gospels. I vividly remember the first time that I heard a teaching on this passage over 20 years ago. I could not get it out of my head. I could not believe that Jesus was making such an ambitious call of what it means to follow Him. There is no part of my life that He is not asking for, and I was not entirely sure that was acceptable. I do not remember exactly how I resolved the tension at that time. I do know that interacting with God about the passage was an important part of processing it. I also know that I had a different relationship with God after that, and I am thankful for it.
What does it mean to lose your life? We are no longer our own, we were bought with a price (1 Cor 6:20) and we must act consistent with this reality. I can accept that Jesus is the owner of my time, but that does not mean that it works out well in my daily life. It is not enough that I can say that Jesus death on the cross has transformed my future. I must be able to say that every action I take, every choice that I make, and all the thoughts in my head are submitted to Christ.
There must be a radical change in our focus if we are to meet the challenge laid out in verse 35. Jesus addresses this in verses 36 and 37. We are either going to try to gain the whole world, or we are going to gain God by losing the world. I can either follow what I think is right, or I can follow God. This is one of the places in my life where I have seen the largest gap between knowing and doing. Knowing how to lose my life and choosing to do it are very different things. I can often know what it looks like to lose my life. Without Christ's transforming work in my life it is impossible to choose to do the right thing.
The main conclusion that I draw reading this passage again is that it is worth being challenged by God's word, and approaching Him with what you find there. He will meet you and help you see more of who He is. That is what happened to me with this passage, and my life is better for it.