Are you trying to save your life, or make it count?  There’s a difference.

Most of us spend most of our time trying to arrange our lives for the maximum earthly benefit. We pursue security as if there is such a thing. We chase the American Dream in the belief that it will satisfy us.  We worry about next week, next month, next year or the decade after. As a result, we are always afraid.

It’s no way to live. God has a better idea.

Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it”  (Matthew 16:25). In other words, live for a purpose.  Don’t aim for retirement, aim for meaning. When you are lying on your death bed, you won’t be glad that you shrewdly built up your 401(k), you will be wishing you had made a difference in the lives of other people, wishing you had taken the time to get to know God, wishing you had given more thought to his judgment.

It’s so easy to fall into the trap of chasing security rather than significance.

But the definition of a failed life is not poverty, or sickness, or earthly anonymity. The definition of a failed life is a pile of years that bring no glory to Christ. Think about that.  You will be amazed at how different everything looks when you choose your “want.”

So…what do you want?  You get to choose.  Choose wisely.  “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it …”

I’ll see you on Sunday.  Be true!