John 12:25 (NLT)
25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.
The phrase "loves this life" refers to those who serve only themselves. If we are not careful, we will become the greedy, self-centered ones. Those who live only to be served can face the reality, that in the end, they will lose everything they've attempted to gain for themselves. These folks will not go above and beyond the realm of "me-ism" to serve others. They do not willingly practice self-sacrifce (as Christ did for us on much bigger scale), to serve others. If someone asks for their help, they "might" do it and if they do, they are not happy to do it. They themselves will do nothing in a spirit of love and humility for others. They may even "help" with ulterior motives.
"Hates this life" refers to those who serve Christ. And if you are a Christ imitator, as we are called to be, then you are willing to put others before yourself. You are the one who gives of yourself, wether it's time, money, or both. You provide some kind of service without an ulterior motive. You see or hear of a need, and you happily assist in that need with pure motives.
Even Jesus had to deal with this issue among His own disciples and correct this wrong type of thinking.
Luke 22:24-27 (NLT)
24 Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them.
As we see, even the disciples were concerned about who was going to be the greatest of them. The Savior is right in front of them, sharing time and space with them, and they are arguing over a worldly matter. A matter that children of God should not even concern themselves with.
25 Jesus told them, �In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called �friends of the people.� 26 But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. 27 Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.
Here we have Christ's description of true success. According to the world, the one who is being served, is the greatest. This is not so in the Kingdom of God. We are to be Christ-like and who better to learn from than the Master Himself.
Part of any leadership role is to serve others. Actually, Christianity in general, is a calling to a life of service to others. It does not exalt itself individually, or as a whole. (God will exalt those whom He chooses to exalt.) If Christ is the picture of what we are to be, then it would only make sense that we would study His teachings and actions and apply them to our own lives.
Christ respected the call on His life and did not serve others for personal gain and attention. He did it for the good of the Kingdom and to bring glory to God. He did it out of pure and undefiled love for us; as we are to show for one another.
God deals in black in white. One side or the other. You are either saved or you are unsaved. You either possess a servant's heart, or you do not. If it's always about you and what you want, then chances are, you are lacking the servant's heart which makes an effective Christian and leader for the Kingdom.
Philippians 2:7 (NLT)
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
As we see in the passage above, Christ emptied Himself of all of His privileges and took on the likeness of man for our good; not for His gain. He came to serve and give wisdom and eternal life to us. Things which are much more important than what they world has to offer. A quote by an unknown author sums it up for us in one short and very powerful statement: "Jesus gave Himself to death."
The Creator of ALL things and people, took on the spirit of a servant. And He continues to serve us to this day.
In closing, I have included some questions for the reader to consider.
Personal Thoughts To Ponder:
1: Have you taken on the role of servant?
2: Do you feel that your motives are pure?
3: Do you become frustrated when you are asked to help with something?
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